Don't Back Down

A few weeks ago, I mentioned how the City of Charlotte licenses animals. I was annoyed at paying yet another bill, so I checked out the City Ordinance for myself. Section 3-34.1 seems to be the one dealing with this particular issue. It says that every dog owner must pay their license fee. If that fee isn't paid, the city can issue a citation for $50. If you don't pay this amount, the city can seize your dog.

At this point, they then keep the dog for up to 5 days, when the ownership rights of the owner shall be terminated, and they can dispose of the animal as they wish: By public sale, public auction or humane destruction. Notice the wording. They aren't going to say that they kill your dog. That would be too honest for government. They will humanely destroy it.

Read that again: If you do not pay your yearly license fee to the city, they can take your dog, throw it in the pound for a few days, and then destroy it. I thought that there could be no sense to this. Surely if you are a responsible owner, care for your dog(s), keep your dog(s) up-to-date on vaccinations, provide your dog(s) with microchip(s) and don't let them endanger the public, this sort of thing isn't required?

Wrong. I asked Nancy Carter, my City Council Representative, about it. The Charlotte City Council, in their infinite wisdom, has decided that people won't do those things on their own - that by requiring a license fee, people will be responsible pet owners and pay up. Of course, to get a license, you need vaccinations and whatnot. But why does the city get a cut if you do everything you are supposed to do? If there are city requirements for vaccinations and restraint and the like (there are), why not fine people for violating those ordinances, rather than imposing a fine on people who are responsible? That makes no sense.

I talked to someone at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Police Department. Sure enough, if you don't pay your fines, they seize your dog. And sell it or destroy it. But get this - that doesn't absolve you of your responsibility. That is to say, you still owe the city the money, and if you don't pay it, they turn it over to a collection agency, at which point your credit can be damaged.

This isn't encouraging compliance. People who don't care won't get rabies shots, so the vet can't tell the city that the dog exists, and they certainly aren't going to go get a license if they won't get a rabies shot. It's extortion of the people who are responsible, because they don't want their dog taken away from them. I bet most don't even get to the part about the fines and credit. Fear of losing their dog is enough.

The government may provide valuable services in some cases, but the ability to kill my dog and ruin my credit is certainly not one of them. Live in Charlotte? Write your representative and tell them how you feel. At-large reps represent the whole city. So write them, too, no matter where you live.

Update: I've found a more recent version of the City Ordinance, and have added a comment to address the issue more accurately with that version. I've removed the links here, as they seemed to not work correctly - but I'm leaving the text as it was, in case anyone needs to compare.