Should there be a requirement that a person getting a dog license

[pnwmom]

take a test -- like we take written driver's tests?

A test that would demonstrate at least basic knowledge of the responsibility, costs, and time involved in taking care of a puppy or dog?

So many dogs are dumped in shelters when they've passed the cute puppy stage and have behavior problems because they lacked the careful training they needed in order to coexist well with humans. Maybe we should make sure the humans are trained before we allow puppies and dogs to be put into their hands.

(Yeah, I realize that some people make this argument about human babies, too -- but that gets into major constitutional questions that wouldn't be involved with dog licensing, which we already do.)

[elleng]

1. States/counties could institute such, if they/the people want.

.

[MadHound]

2. Wouldn't eliminate the problem, in fact it might exacerbate it

People would simply not get dog licenses anymore. Hell, there are already plenty of places where you don't need a dog license, and it's not as if that law is really enforced. People would simply forego the license and when that dog gets lost, it won't be able to be returned:shrug:

[pnwmom]

3. What if they gave a break in the fee to people who scored well on a test? n/t

[endarkenment]

4. no

[LWolf]

5. I'd prefer harsher, and better enforced,

sanctions against those who abuse and abandon animals, and those who allow their animals to breed without a license to do so.

And I'd like there to be a license to breed that would be unavailable to puppy mills. And required microchipping, so that when a dog gets dumped, we know who did it.

I lived for 12 years in a remote area in the Mojave desert; no neighbors for about a mile, and those neighbors were also widely scattered. The highway leading through that area was about 3 miles away. We dealt with dumped dogs of all kinds on a regular basis. People would turn off the highway, drive a few miles to the next paved road, which ran through empty desert with a house every once in awhile, dump the dog, and return to their lives. What a betrayal.

Those dogs invariably found their way to one of those remote houses, if the coyotes didn't get them first. Starving, dehydrated, and frightened. Because their "people" didn't want to take them to a shelter. Those shelters do practice euthanasia; they are always overcrowded, and the flood of incoming animals never stops. Still, better humanely euthanized than dumped where starvation, dehydration, and predatory coyotes can make the process longer and more horrible.

We adopted some of the dogs. Rehomed others. And yes, when we couldn't take any more or find homes, we called the shelter.

[aikoaiko]

6. I'm no even sure there should be dog licenses.

:shrug:

[pnwmom]

7. They do it to make sure dogs have rabies vaccines, and some of the money

goes to funding the local pound.

[ObamaGear]

8. Yes

If your incapable of caring and supporting yourself then you should NOT be able to get an animal

[mecherosegarden]

9. No. N/T

[customerserviceguy]

10. You might be able to solve the problem

by having two sets of license fees, a higher one for purebreds (which often have horrible behavioral traits bred into them) and a lower one for mutts, which usually are not the high-strung kind of dog that has trouble bonding with a family.

I'm still somewhat disappointed in the Obama family for getting the puppy mill dog, since people like to emulate their behavior, it would have done wonders for tens of thousands of animals out there if they had adopted a shelter dog. Even if it had to be "engineered" by a Portugese water dog rescue group, it would have set a powerful example.

[pnwmom]

13. Where do you think most shelter dogs originally come from? Puppy mills.

Why? Because most dogs are originally purchased from puppy mills and/or pet stores.

And because most careful breeders require buyers to sign contracts agreeing to give any unwanted dogs back to the breeder instead of to a shelter. Those who don't end up going back to a breeder usually end up in a breed rescue organization, not a pound.

The Obamas didn't get their dog from either a puppy mill or a shelter. Kennedy got the dog for them from a small, careful breeder -- who "re-homed" the dog when it didn't work with the first owner.

Also, the Obamas have made a donation to the local animal rescue. I'm sure those organizations would be thrilled if everyone purchasing a dog from a breeder followed suit.

[customerserviceguy]

11. deleted, duplicate

[hughee99]

12. It wouldn't really matter

either the test would be so easy that anyone could pass it, or it would be tough enough that it would be called "discriminatory". The only benefit I can see is that the truly lazy who get dogs but don't take care of them might not want to go through "all the hassle" of taking the test, and not get a dog in the first place.

[stillcool]

14. In order to adopt a pet..

in the shelters around here you have to submit an application. I don't know how much follow-up they do, but I was surprised at how much probing it was.

[Retrograde]

15. same here

they're trying to weed out the impulse "purchases" by seeing if the people who want the animal know what they're getting in to.