Home
>
Pet
>
But My Pet Will Never Run Away (or Why We Need Licenses)

But My Pet Will Never Run Away (or Why We Need Licenses)

The city I live in just increased its fees for dog and cat licenses. It's now $30 a year for unneutered/unsprayed pets and $20 a year for sprayed/neutered pets.

Even though these are not major dollars, there were plenty of complaints. Some people consider the increase (we were at $5) just a way to raise more money during budget cuts. Some people who keep their pet - especially their cat - inside all the time think it is unfair to make them pay at all.

Please remember that licensing your pet has several benefits for all of us:

1. It ensures that dogs have had their rabies vaccinations. Rabies is 99.9% fatal for dogs and humans and requiring proof of vaccination for a license protects the entire community. There are irresponsible owners who might not do this if it wasn't required.

2. Licenses help cities keep track of how many pets a person owns and how many dogs are in the city.

Many cities limit the number of dogs or pets any one household can have. Again, given the number of irresponsible or deranged people out there, this is a necessary limitation for community health.

3. Licenses tell the animal control officers that a dog has an owner and isn't an abandoned or stray dog. In some cities, unclaimed dogs without licenses are euthanized in fewer days than dogs with collars.

4. Licenses may have contact information about the owner, thus helping reunite dogs with their owners. If you think Fido would never bolt out your door to chase a bike runner or butterfly, you don't know dogs.

5. Licenses requires collars which enable owners to include more tags. For example, you can note any serious illnesses your dog has (e.g., diabetes) or note on the tag that you guarantee payment of emergency medical bills for your dog.

6. License fees help pay for local animal shelters and animal control officers. Yes, my city's increase is driven by budget cuts and thank goodness, my city is progressive enough to find the money to maintain our animal control department.

7. License fees help motivate owners to have sprayed/neutered dogs through the cost reduction. If owners aren't planning to show or breed dogs, having the dogs sprayed or neutered is a health benefit for the animals.

No one likes taxes or fees, but sometimes they do have good reasons to exist.

Louise Louis is a long-time dog person and operates http://www.toybreeds.com

local house cleaners Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Kodiak Driver autonomous truck achieves perfect 98 safety score, matching top human fleets in groundbreaking AI evaluation by Nauto's VERA system.

New 401k catch-up contribution rules in 2026 will change taxes for high earners over 50. Learn how scammers exploit these changes and protect your retirement savings.

Kurt Knutsson's guide covers social media privacy protection through location settings, account privacy controls and two-factor authentication to prevent scams and data breaches.

Revolutionary retinal implant restores central vision in 80% of patients with advanced macular degeneration, offering hope where treatments once only slowed blindness.

Learn how to use passkeys on Windows and Mac computers without cameras or fingerprint readers. Discover secure authentication methods that replace passwords.

Tesla's FSD v14.1.2 update reintroduces Mad Max mode, enabling higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the standard Hurry profile setting.

A phishing email scam targeting American Express customers shows how cybercriminals use fake urgent messages to steal personal and financial information.

Facebook's new Meta AI feature analyzes your camera roll photos to create polished collages automatically, but requires cloud processing and raises privacy concerns.

A New Jersey teenager filed a major lawsuit against AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd. over ClothOff, an AI tool that created fake nude images from her social media photos.

Microsoft reports Storm-2657 cybercriminals sent phishing emails to 6,000 addresses at 25 universities to steal payroll credentials and redirect funds.

Astronomers have discovered asteroid 2025 SC79, a skyscraper-sized space rock orbiting the sun in just 128 days. the second-fastest known.

The Fox News AI Newsletter delivers the latest developments form the world of artificial intelligence, including the technology's challenges and opportunities.

A cyberattack on SimonMed Imaging exposed personal information of 1.2 million patients, including medical records, financial details and identity papers.

Spotify's managed accounts for kids under 13 now available in at least seven countries, allowing parents to filter and block explicit content and songs.

Friendly text conversations about BBQs and social events can lead to WEEX gold trading scams that target older adults with fake investment opportunities.

California company Skyeports creates self-healing glass spheres from Moon regolith that generate solar power and support plant growth for sustainable lunar living.

Cleafy researchers discover fake VPN streaming app Mobdro Pro that installs Klopatra banking Trojan, giving attackers full control over Android devices.

Police departments across the U.S. and Canada are adopting virtual reality training to better prepare officers for high-pressure, real-world situations.

House Bill 469 would prevent AI systems from owning property, serving as executives, or gaining legal personhood in Ohio under Representative Thaddeus Claggett's proposal.

Public voter records expose retirees' personal details to election scammers who create targeted cons using names, addresses, and voting history data.

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.