What are your city's laws about pets?

I had to call our city's animal control people because there was a dog outside without water the other day. I live in Phoenix and it was mid-day, about 105 degrees out.

To my suprise, the law only states that animals need shelter and water -- NO FOOD -- what the heck?

My other neighbor has water out, but the bowl is grossly moldly - so much so that the bowl has developed a crack.

I'm so dissapointed and shocked to hear this.

That is absolutely CRAZY! I'm not sure what the laws are around here, but I do know that whatever they are, they are not strictly enforced. It's pathetic really.

I think the law states that there must be food water and shelter for them. I'm not sure if they inforce them or not but if they don't then they should not have their jobs.

I've called the dog warden on neighbors who had four boxers outside with no shelter. The man came and so did the SPCA. The homeowner received a hefty fine and was told to get shelter for the animals and he did build something. He was furious about it, though, and despite several demands, nobody would ever tell him who reported him. (Thank god.) This guy was a trucker and would be gone for days on end. Supposedly, the dogs were cared for, but we never saw anybody there. And the poor dogs would bark for hours and hours. I remember standing in the middle of the street one night around 3:00 in the morning with neighbors, trying to figure out what to do.

I also called the dog warden because one day, I went out to walk over my lunch break and saw a man smack a puppy on the snout with a large metal food dish. The puppy was a puppy and he was excited about getting dinner, I guess. And the guy smacked him....hard. I shouted "Hey!" and started in on him. Told him right out I was reporting him and did so. The dog warden called me back and told me that he had been to the property and talked to the owner. And I believe him. Because for months afterward, that man was outside, glaring at me every day when I went out to walk. He was furious that he got caught.

We keep hearing that they (area officials) want to make people get licenses for cats, the same way dog owners have to get licenses. And really, we'd pay the fees. Our six are all strictly indoor cats; they only go outside if they're in my arms; although they're all trained to the leash, we don't take them outside that often anymore. The exception is Mollipop, who goes up to the garden with me for a nightly visit, but again, only in my arms.

We also keep hearing that, in town, officials want to start regulating the number of animals one can have in the house. Again, we don't live in town, so we're OK. We've limited ourselves to six cats (that's all we can really afford in terms of vet bills more so than anything....five of the six are geriatric and when kitties get old, you never know what's going to happen).

Part of the problem is that people start taking in strays and then they have a problem caring for them. That's what happened two years ago in town. An elderly couple ended up with well over 100 cats til it was all said and done. They couldn't afford to spay/neuter. The cats were all in the house. The town ended up having to pay to have the home torn down; the stench was unbelieveable and could be smelled throughout the neighborhood.

While I don't like animal regulations, I understand the need for them sometimes. Some people have the best intentions, but things get out of hand and the animals who suffer in the long run.

I think it's true almost everywhere that there MUST be clean food water and shelter for them.

In my town there is a leash law for cats and dogs, but they don't enforce it as readily as they should. It disgusts me up here in the Northwoods to see cats running around year round. I have seen far too many cats with frost bitten ears and paws. It's disgusting!

Of course, I'm the one who almost gets in trouble for trespassing in multiple states for sneaking over and feeding and watering animals. But hey, I'd rather get arrested for trespassing than animal cruelty, and I think neglecting the issue even if it's not my animal is animal cruelty.

Ordinances are lax, just the usual leash laws and some concerning livestock and poultry. AC is only one person and he only picks up dogs that are a hazard/threatening. No one bothers with neglected animals unless a neighbor gets media involved.

There are leash laws - otherwise they just have to have food/water/shelter.

In my city, pet ordinances are strictly enforced. And, while I live near to a large city, my town is small. There are leash laws as well as laws stating that any dog off leash must be in a fenced in area with adequate shelter, food, and fresh water. And, unless the dog is considered by the city to be a "vicious dog," no dog is to be left unsupervised while chained in a yard. And, where the vicious dog ordinances are concerned, there are certain requirements regarding the type of chain and length to be used (and these can only be used for very short periods of time -- I believe it is less than 2 hours). There are also fence laws for "vicious dogs," but I do not know enough about them to comment at this time. Also, all dogs must be vaccinated against rabies and where a collar, ID tag, and rabies tag at all times. Cats are not required to be licensed, but they are required to have documentation that they received and are UTD on their rabies vaccinations.

As far as how many pets are allowed in the home, there is presently no limit. There used to be a limit, but that ordinance was removed about 5 years ago. I don't remember the reasoning as to why it was removed, but it undoubtedly had something to do with the city's inability to enforce such an ordinance. I believe, at the time, it stated that no single-family home should have more than 4 dogs and/or cats. Sadly, in the larger city there are many cases of animal cruelty and hoarding situations, but with the city's budget, those cases are not handled as I believe they should be. Thankfully, however, our local humane society does a wonderful job and there are many animal shelters around the area that also are some animals' saving grace.

I'm very grateful that my city and the local humane society and shelters are so dedicated to caring for and protecting animals. I know most city's struggle with this, but there has always been a rapid response should anything arise and I have worked a couple of the organizations for years and that, too, makes me thankful to have been of service to so many animals. It's sad when an individual gets too caught up in rescue or "saving all of the strays/ferals" and then becomes a hoarder. It's despicable that some owners treat their animals badly or are neglectful or abusive toward them (and I use the term owner loosely here). But, it's unforgivable for the agencies who work for the animals do not take action. It makes me appreciate what everyone here does all the more...

I feel awful for the dog I saw that day. And when I called in to report it and hearing that food is not required, broke my heart :-( I clarified that, in fact, food was not mandatory even - thinking I had heard wrong.

The house that I called about - the dog was outside, without water, and just barking at the door. You know how you sometimes can understand what the dog is saying? I heard it as "Just let me in! I'm hot!" It was sad. These dogs also jump the fence often - one is a rott and the other a great dane. The fence hits about my hip (I'm average height) and it's no problem for them to jump the fence.

We don't have a decent animal police though. The humane society patrols neglect, cruelty... while the county deals with strays.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

There are leash laws - otherwise they just have to have food/water/shelter.

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Same here except our leash laws are fairly strictly enforced, but since some dogs get fed twice a day and not food left out for them, no food outside would not bother Animal Control, unless the dog looked like it was malnourished and then they would make a call to the SPCA who may or may not bother dealing with it

We live in farm area and all animals are required to be provided with food, shelter and water. I don't know what the leash laws are - I just know that there are several dogs that escape from time-to-time - we know who they are (everyone does), where they belong - and when they get loose, we just call their people to let them know they got out and where we saw them.

If there's a problem with wildlife, you have to call private "pest control" yourself and pay for it yourself.

...and while there may be an animal control officer here, for any reportable offense, they contract out to the SPCA. It's really cool - the officer has a gun even though he's not technically police. They take any reports of animal abuse really seriously.

Before we knew what we were doing, we adopted out two cats to a couple that seemed really nice. We didn't do background check other than to talk to the woman's supervisor at the local store where she worked and didn't do a home visit. Long story short, we rescued back the cats - and reported them. They got the maximum fine for the problem - $500 and a 2-year ban on owning pets. It also got them on a "do not adopt" list to local and county shelters/rescues.

But I think animal cruelty laws are probably not near what they should be anywhere - and sadly, for the most part, they just cost too much (for most communities) to actually enforce.

In fact - the way many laws read, TNR is technically illegal (abandonment) in a lot of places, so it's also thanks to lax enforcement of laws that many people are able to practice TNR.

Originally Posted by LDG

But I think animal cruelty laws are probably not near what they should be anywhere - and sadly, for the most part, they just cost too much (for most communities) to actually enforce.

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The laws are fine. In the US every state has basic cruelty laws that are good. But yes, no money is the issue.

I, for one, don't want any more animal related laws. They're seriously messing things up everywhere by slowly chipping away more rights - licensing and limits are part of the start. Eventually owning of any animal will be banned, it's already in a pretty sorry state for reptile and exotic owners - in 10 years my pets will probably be illegal, if not sooner than that.

Let me restate that - the issue I have with our community isn't the law - it's the fines for violating the laws (or the "pet shop" exceptions to the law). Here's a link to State information - I think you'll find most states - as our community - basically provide a slap on the wrist. I'd prefer that animal cruelty not usually be a misdemeanor. http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/html/cruelty_laws.html

8 states don't even have felony provisions.