A Dog Day Afternoon
The Indianapolis City-County Council is going to take up the issue of dangerous dogs next week. You might recall the recent rash of dog attacks, which facilitated the ordinance. I read through the ordinance and at first glance it seems like a good idea. It increases the fines and penalties for the owners of dangerous animals. It is not breed specific. And there are provisions to protect owners when their dog attacks someone who may be committing a crime or is teasing the dog. Like I said, good ideas all around. But then there are a couple other provisions.
Included in the ordinance are two provisions regarding pet identification and spading and neutering. The ordinance requires most pets in Marion County to be spaded and neutered, as well as microchipped. There are some exceptions, but unless you’re a dog breeder this rule applies to you. So your dog Max and your cat Mittens will have to get snipped and fixed.
I like animals, dogs in particular. And if I owned a dog I’d be a responsible pet owner and spay and neuter my dog. And I would also microchip him so if he got lost or stolen, I could find him. That’s called being a responsible pet owner. And I’m willing to bet money many other responsible pet owners are doing that already. So why a government rule or regulation? This will do nothing to stop the irresponsible pet owners. They won’t spade. They won’t neuter. They won’t microchip, although maybe they should be, the owners as well as the pets.
Spaying and neutering pets are overall good ideas. Microchipping your pet makes sense. What I don’t agree with is when the government mandates it.
