Marty
07-25-2008, 02:39 AM
Salt Lake Tribune -- The Siberian husky that attacked me and my on-leash dog a few months ago turned out to have a long history of aggression. The dog's owner has been cited for the dog harassing livestock and wildlife, attacking other dogs and cats and running at-large. People who see my scars are amazed that the dog remains with its patently irresponsible owner.
The fact is, Animal Services has limited powers to act against problem dogs. In the husky's case, the owner was forced to update the dog's lapsed licenses and vaccinations, but nothing else could be done.
So before rushing to ban or place other restrictions on particular breeds ("Dangerous dogs: Restricting some breeds makes sense," Our View, July 18), cities should carefully review existing policies that govern the ability of Animal Services to act on documented cases of bad behavior by any dog. Breed-specific legislation places additional burdens on animal control departments, whose budgets are already severely constrained. A wiser approach would encourage record-sharing among jurisdictions, mandatory micro-chipping of problem dogs and stronger penalties for owners who fail to control their animals.
Allison Rowland
Salt Lake City
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9986872
The fact is, Animal Services has limited powers to act against problem dogs. In the husky's case, the owner was forced to update the dog's lapsed licenses and vaccinations, but nothing else could be done.
So before rushing to ban or place other restrictions on particular breeds ("Dangerous dogs: Restricting some breeds makes sense," Our View, July 18), cities should carefully review existing policies that govern the ability of Animal Services to act on documented cases of bad behavior by any dog. Breed-specific legislation places additional burdens on animal control departments, whose budgets are already severely constrained. A wiser approach would encourage record-sharing among jurisdictions, mandatory micro-chipping of problem dogs and stronger penalties for owners who fail to control their animals.
Allison Rowland
Salt Lake City
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9986872