Texas Dog Advocate Your Barks are Needed: Houston, Dont Take our Dogs! For the first time in the history of Houston, the City is considering adding language to their ordinances that “title and sole ownership of the dog transfers to BARC, the dog becomes the sole property of BARC, and becomes subject to disposition as BARC deems appropriate.” Section 6-102(b). The City is trying to OWN your dog if it is lost and you dont show up in 72 hours (no tag) or 6 days (with a tag) to reclaim your dog. That means that if the city transfers your dog to, for example, a rescue group, then you could come back from a short vacation to find out you dont own your dog any longer. The rescue group can deny the return of your dog. Of course, the City cant just put language in an ordinance and toss your Constitutional property rights out the window, but that is exactly what this ordinance is attempting to do. Houston City Council will VOTE on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. The issue is not the length of the hold period but the fact that the City is attempting to own your property, your beloved dog, after a measly few days. Currently, the City has a 30 day grace period for owners to reclaim dogs after the impoundment period. What better result than if a family pet is returned to their owner? Two recent cases show that some rescue groups take a hardline approach to returning dogs to their owners. For more information (there has been a lot of misinformation out there) on the cases involving the Greater Houston German Shepherd Dog Rescues refusal to return an Iraqi war vets dog and a college kids family pet, go to: Full Article about Sargent & Monte Please let your barks & howls be heard! ** Speaking at City Council. If you would like to speak at City Council, they will be considering Public Comments on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 2:00 pm. You must sign up ahead of time. Sign up to speak for Tuesday Public Session by calling the City Secretary’s office at 832.393.1100, sending an email to: [email protected] Writing emails/faxes to City Council: Send Emails & Faxes (make sure your letter or email always has a subject line stating your position). Dear Hon. Houston City Council: RE: Say NO to Houston Owning our Dogs: Oppose(Sec. 6-102b) I am opposed to Section 6-102b of the proposed Animal Ordinances. Houston should not try to own our lost dogs after a short impoundment and should keep the 30 day grace period now in effect. ADD Talking Points (see below) but personalize your letter. Let the City know of experiences you have had or know about with lost dogs and the difficulty in finding them. Thank you. Sincerely, Your Name & Address Talking Points to consider for your emails & faxes (addresses and numbers below): --The City cannot own our dogs by changing an ordinance. Citizens have property rights and are owed due process. --The City has never tried to own or dogs before and should not now. --Dogs are family members and this law hurts good owners who are trying to get their family member back, not bad owners who dont bother to look for their dogs. --Harris County has 35 cities and over 4 million residents. Every city has responsibility for animal control that makes finding a dog very hard. --There is not one central location or website for lost dogs. Animal control takes in lost dogs but so do rescue groups, other shelters, and Good Samaritans. --Finding a lost dog can be a real challenge and losing a dog can happen to anyone including kennels, veterinarians, doggy daycare, pet sitters, groomers and dog walkers. It happens. --This proposed law will affect the good owners who are desperately trying to find their dog, not bad owners who do not search for their dog or even care. -- In 2013, 99.5% of stray dogs at BARC were not claimed by an owner. It is unusual that a rescue has an owner show up to claim a dog they get from animal control, but our legal system provides Justice for All, not just those for whom it is convenient. --BARC includes the 30 day grace period in their Adoption Contract, so people know that an owner might show up but also know it most likely wont happen. -- Even people who adopt human babies may enter an agreement that the biological parents have up to 60 days to change their minds. The Houston City Council is voting on this issue on Wednesday, March 26, 2014!! Please let the Houston City Council know that you OPPOSE SEC. 6-106b THAT WOULD ALLOW THE CITY TO TAKE AWAY YOUR DOG. Email and Fax because the vote is on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. Email and Fax often! Email addresses and fax numbers are provided below. Houston City Council Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Houston City Council Faxes: 832 393 3336, 832 393 3302, 832 393 3291, 832.393.3224, 832.393.3313, 832.393.3302, 832.393.3279, 832.395.9571, 832.395.9426, 832.395.9423, 832.395.9410, 832.393.3251, 832.393.3327
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:49:18 +0000
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