Pet licensing sweep

[mlind]

what do dogfights, stupid owners letting their dogs run around everywhere, or stray dogs have to do with me and whether i've paid the city $10 to license my dog? 

i'm a responsible pet owner whether i pay the city $10 or not.  morons are irresponsible pet owners whether they've paid the city $10 or not.  "licensing" you dog does not = responsibility any more than having a driver's license means youre a good driver.

I did say 'hopefully'. 

[LenexatoKCMO]

i'm a responsible pet owner whether i pay the city $10 or not.  morons are irresponsible pet owners whether they've paid the city $10 or not.  "licensing" you dog does not = responsibility any more than having a driver's license means youre a good driver.

You at least have to take a competency test for the driver's license - not so for the dog license.  Maybe they should make you walk the dog through some cones on a leash and verify that you know how to pick up a stinking pile with a plastic bag. 

[WSPanic]

i'm a responsible pet owner whether i pay the city $10 or not.  morons are irresponsible pet owners whether they've paid the city $10 or not.  "licensing" you dog does not = responsibility any more than having a driver's license means youre a good driver.

No. You're really not. Licensing your pet is part of being a responsible pet owner - regardless of your actions. And it's the law.

[drumatix]

No. You're really not. Licensing your pet is part of being a responsible pet owner - regardless of your actions. And it's the law.

Now that's funny.

[chrizow]

No. You're really not. Licensing your pet is part of being a responsible pet owner - regardless of your actions.

why not?  my dog has tags, so if it ever got loose (which has never happened), he could be returned very easily.  he is current on his shots and is very well taken care of.

what is it about my $10 check to KCMO that causes me to change from "irresponsible" to "responsible?"  i really want to know.  maybe i'm missing something about this licensing process that is substantive and not just a way to generate revenue.

[midtown guy]

Where we they when the city's budget was put together?  Are they complaining to the council or just venting on a forum?  If they actually want a change then go to the people that make the decision.

The sweeps just started after the budget was approved. I'd be surprised if the sweeps continue that people won't be lined up to get a cut in Animal Control budget for next year. I know I'll be there.  If AC doesn't want to use the money for something useful and productive, let's give it to a department that will.

And if half the people that told me they emailed their city council member about it actually did, then I'd say the council is well aware that people don't like it.

[aknowledgeableperson]

what is it about my $10 check to KCMO that causes me to change from "irresponsible" to "responsible?" 

Simple, compliance with the law.  Your attitide is like an unlicensed driver saying "I obey all traffic laws so, car is maintained, etc so why do I need a license?"

The sweeps just started after the budget was approved

They have had sweeps in the past and will have them in the future when the need arises, and it isn't on an annual basis so I doubt there will be much griping, if any, at budget time.  Besides there is a long time between now and then so many will just forget about it.

[midtown guy]

They have had sweeps in the past and will have them in the future when the need arises, and it isn't on an annual basis so I doubt there will be much griping, if any, at budget time.  Besides there is a long time between now and then so many will just forget about it.

Don't bet on the griping part.

[mean]

Simple, compliance with the law.  Your attitide is like an unlicensed driver saying "I obey all traffic laws so, car is maintained, etc so why do I need a license?"

Not that I'm necessarily for or against the government regulating who may or may not drive, but having an unlicensed pet is hardly the equivalent of propelling a multi-ton metal death machine at dozens of miles per hour without a license. That said, if one obeys all traffic laws and maintains their vehicle, I'd call them a responsible driver regardless. Having a license doesn't matter. It's just a formality.

Insurance, on the other hand...

[aknowledgeableperson]

The people complaining about the pet license sweep calls to mind those who complain about the police who wrote them a ticket for speeding or running a red light and state why wasn't the cop instead out catching the murderers or rapists out there somewhere.

if one obeys all traffic laws and maintains their vehicle, I'd call them a responsible driver regardless. Having a license doesn't matter. It's just a formality.

Just like a student caught cheating on a test and gets an "F" and says "I was only looking for an answer on one question, not all of them". 

[drumatix]

The people complaining about the pet license sweep calls to mind those who complain about the police who wrote them a ticket for speeding or running a red light and state why wasn't the cop instead out catching the murderers or rapists out there somewhere.

And those folks are right much of the time. Shooting fish in a barrel is easy. The police/animal control officers work for the populace & should be enforcing laws in a way that we, their employers, want them to work. I'd say wanting them to tackle the big problems rather than the smaller, safer, easier problems is completely valid.

Sorry to start this whole bitch-fest thread, but I'm like the guy who got a speeding ticket and wasn't even driving. I have no pets, nor evidence of pets. This whole things is a revenue grab and intrusive.

[TheBigChuckbowski]

Sorry, a little late to the party, but...

I'm pretty sure the plain view doctrine does not allow someone to enter your property (which includes your front yard and front porch) in order to see if something illegal is going on. If they see your dog in the backyard from the PUBLIC street and then check their database to see if its registered, then sure they have cause, but even if they're lawfully on your front porch (which AC really has no reason to be) and the dog barks at the knock of the door, I'm not even sure that counts. They caused the dog to bark by making a noise, therefore it wasn't in plain view. Look at some previous cases, the plain view doctrine didn't hold up when an officer moved a stereo to look at its serial number.

[droopy]

And those folks are right much of the time. Shooting fish in a barrel is easy. The police/animal control officers work for the populace & should be enforcing laws in a way that we, their employers, want them to work. I'd say wanting them to tackle the big problems rather than the smaller, safer, easier problems is completely valid.

Sorry to start this whole bitch-fest thread, but I'm like the guy who got a speeding ticket and wasn't even driving. I have no pets, nor evidence of pets. This whole things is a revenue grab and intrusive.

I don't disagree that this is a revenue grab.  The city needs money and if they can shoot fish in a barrel to get it, so be it.  I have a dog, I honestly don't even know if she's registered which probably means she isn't.  If we - the populace - don't want police/animal control enforcing laws, we should have the law changed/removed, not say we don't really want it enforced. 

[chrizow]

i say enforce it on the back end.  if your dog is causing havoc in the neighborhood, or gets hauled in to the pound, then AC should check its licensing and, when you pick it up, they can fine you or charge you the licensing fee.  going door to door in "targeted" areas to ask every pet owner if they've coughed up to the city is insane. 

my neighbors up the street fucking dynamited their front lawn, apparently breakign a water or sewer pipe, causing a river that has been flowing down the street for over a year now.  there is also a gaping hole in the sidewalk 3 feet wide and about 3 feet deep.  multiple calls to the city and 3-1-1 have done nothing.  but thank god the city is clamping down on pet owners!

[mlind]

my neighbors up the street fucking dynamited their front lawn, apparently breakign a water or sewer pipe, causing a river that has been flowing down the street for over a year now.  there is also a gaping hole in the sidewalk 3 feet wide and about 3 feet deep.  multiple calls to the city and 3-1-1 have done nothing.  but thank god the city is clamping down on pet owners!

A city worker once tipped me off that the way to get a response is to 'see' a rat on the property and then call vector control or whatever it's called in KC.  I've done that to get trashy yards cleaned up.  It even caused the owner of one empty property to actually fix up the house and rent it. 

I'll bet I could see a rat there from my front porch.

[WSPanic]

why not?  my dog has tags, so if it ever got loose (which has never happened), he could be returned very easily.  he is current on his shots and is very well taken care of.

what is it about my $10 check to KCMO that causes me to change from "irresponsible" to "responsible?"  i really want to know.  maybe i'm missing something about this licensing process that is substantive and not just a way to generate revenue.

There are plenty of circumstances that could lead to your pet getting out that have nothing to do with your level of responsibility. Let's say your house is broken into and your dog gets out. Just because he has tags does not mean some citizen will gather your dog and call. Now the rest of the city has to foot your portion of Animal Control's cost to do something about it? Or to board your dog at a city shelter when someone finds him/her and turns them over to authorities?

It's not that hard to come up with a scenario that any responsible pet owner could fall victim to.

[jdubwaldo]

To me there is more responsibility in doing what chorizow describes - having your pets spayed/neutered and keeping current on their shots and tagged than writing out a check to the city.  I am a completely softie with animals, and have found more than several dogs that were obviously someone's pet and lost with no tags in my neighborhood.  Maybe these dogs were dumped out, but for fuck's sake people, put a tag with your phone number on your pet, at least!!!  Ignorance is not a defense, but we did not know the city requires your pets to be licensed.  I grew up on a farm so we never had to worry about it, and we vet in OP.  We didn't have that for our three pets, but are absolutely responsible pet owners in about every sense.

The search portion of this is so intriguing to me, so if anyone cares - chuck - in response to your post.....
There is a "knock and talk" doctrine.  As I understand it, a police officer has the right to approach anyone's house and knock, just as normal citizens do (selling magazines, etc.).  (If you tell the knocker to leave, and they don't then it could ultimately be trespass, but that's another situation.)  If during the knock and talk the officer observes something in plain sight, then that's all they need.

Someone else mentioned this previously, I believe....

[WSPanic]

To me there is more responsibility in doing what chorizow describes - having your pets spayed/neutered and keeping current on their shots and tagged than writing out a check to the city.....

All the things you mentioned - including writing the check to the city - are part of responsible pet ownership. I work in the pet health industry and have plenty of exposure to shelters and the work they do. You'd be shocked how many truly responsible pet owners end up picking their pets up there. Shit happens.

And, rabies shots are part of the process for pet licensing with the city - so they help with that as well.

[TheBigChuckbowski]

The search portion of this is so intriguing to me, so if anyone cares - chuck - in response to your post.....
There is a "knock and talk" doctrine.  As I understand it, a police officer has the right to approach anyone's house and knock, just as normal citizens do (selling magazines, etc.).  (If you tell the knocker to leave, and they don't then it could ultimately be trespass, but that's another situation.)  If during the knock and talk the officer observes something in plain sight, then that's all they need.

Someone else mentioned this previously, I believe....

Isn't there a difference between a police officer and an animal control employee? If there isn't, shouldn't there be?

[jdubwaldo]

My understanding is that they are basically a govt official.  Let me check...  :)

If they can write tickets and levy fines, then my search "expert" says he would think yes.