I went out of town this weekend and returned to e-mails and phone messages about the dog limit law in Hurricane. Apparently, there has been some sort of question about it -- is it on the books or not? I have a copy of the city ordinance and it does show a limit law of no more than two dogs per household. But it is going to be discussed tonight at 7:30 at Hurricane City Hall, so I'm guessing it's not yet set in stone.
From the information I've received, what the city council is trying to do is increase fines and make even stricter laws. For instance, according to rumor they're wanting a separate kennel "to their specifications" for each dog. This is vague, I hope to find out more about this tonight. I don't live within Hurricane city limits, so this doesn't apply to 
me, but what about someone in my situation. I have a large fenced yard, a big covered porch and two dog houses that the dogs have never set foot in. My dogs are inside most of the time. If I were in city limits, would I also be required to build two kennels we wouldn't use either? I hope to have an answer to this tonight.
Also, I've heard the fine for going over the dog limit is going to be $1,000 if they pass this. Is that per dog? A one time fee? By the day? If anyone knows, I would appreciate letting us know in the Comments area below.
I'm an animal lover, I have two dogs, three cats (includes a kitten we got a week ago) and various smaller pets. Even though this issue won't affect our family, I plan to be at the meeting tonight on behalf of my clients. Many of my clients have pets, some in multiples. This affects us all.
Pets are a calming influence. Having a dog has many health benefits:
- They lower blood pressure, even better than medication. During a stressful situation, a pet owner's blood pressure is
usually lower than the non-pet owner. - They reduce overall stress. Patients in nursing homes reported feeling better after a visit with a therapy dog than even with people! People suffering from depression are sometimes "prescribed" a dog.
- Anxiety levels are lower among dog owners than in the general population.
- Dogs increase our social interaction. Walk a dog around your neighborhood in the evenings and you'll see what I mean!
- Dogs even increase our life span. City Hospital in New York did research that showed patients were more likely to be alive a year later if they had a dog -- at a rate even better than those with a spouse or good friends!
- UCLA studied 1,000 elderly people and discovered that those with a dog had 20% less medical care.
- We exercise more if we have a dog. Think about this if you or your children need to lose a few pounds!
Hurricane has a choice to be pet friendly or not. Be a part of the decision. If you feel strongly about this, please be at the meeting tonight. And if you have any information to share or just want to say hi, please leave a comment!
Comments(14)