Fine for unlicensed dog

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

This is new to me, thought I'd share it.

Last week, I got a letter saying that my dog was unlicensed and if I didn't license the dog by a certain date (about one week from the arrival of the letter) that I would be fined.

I sent the letter back, explaining that my dog had died.

Yesterday I got a $50 ticket in the mail for an unlicensed dog.
Yesterday I also got a voicemail from animal control, saying that the ticket was a mistake and was taken off the books - I guess they noticed my letter.

Anyway, over the years we've gone back and forth on dog licensing, but this was the first time a ticket was ever threatened.

Since it costs $6 to license a neutered dog, this fine is quite high.

Comments

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you lost your dog. :(

Out of curiosity, *was* s/he licensed?

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

Yes, she was licensed for most of the 14 years that we had her.

Thanks for your thoughts. It was the saddest thing I've ever gone through. She was an amazing dog.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

My Dog gets Licensed every year, though I don't always walk with his tags on because I use a separate collar for walking. Though that might be where I get in trouble-though I know the #

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It makes sense, in a way. The fine is more than paying the fee so that you'll be inclined to just pay the fee. Look at parking: if you pay $5, you get a visitor pass. If a visitor parks without the pass, they get a ticket, and I'm sure a parking ticket is a lot more than $5 (I have no idea, I don't drive).

Or it could just be a typical Somerville ploy to make money. IDK.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

How much is it to license a dead dog?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

*thwap*

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

how did they know you had/have a dog?

#

[grateful1311.livejournal.com]

Just an FYI, the fee for a dog license is $10 if the dog is neutered/spayed and $16 if the dog is intact not $6 as stated in the post.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but I'm sure it could vote in Chicago.

[kalimba21.livejournal.com]

They knew my dog's name and my info from previous licensing.

For others who offered critique:
I'm not complaining about the policy, mainly noting that I think it is new, and the warning/ticket turnaround was very fast, so others may want to be forewarned.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

In a story that's hilarious in retrospect--at least to me--my aunt was once arrested over something very similar.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up, then.

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. I imagine it was upsetting to be reminded about a painful loss in such an irritating way.

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your loss!

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I would guess the hardest part would be to prove that the dog's rabies vaccine was up to date.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Fines have to be for significantly more than the licensing fee would cost; otherwise the appeal of scofflawing would be too high.

That said, a week's turnaround is crazy. Presumably that was a bug, not a feature?

And, sorry about the loss of your dog. Sad.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

I wonder if what happened is that their system noticed that the dog had been licensed and no longer was, and so flagged it as a violation since the system had no concept that a dog might pass away or move elsewhere. I hope that in the future the default assumption is that residents in long-standing compliance have a good reason like this if their status changes. Maybe they should have a form you can return and nice "we noticed that you have not registered your dog, as you usually do; what's up?" letter to send the first time.

Also, a week is not a very long time. It's got to be shorter than the Mean City Hall Paperwork Turnaround Time.

Sorry for your loss.

Late, but I'm catching up on the comm after being away for a week....

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

This is a totally random story, only tangentially related, but it also makes me laugh.

A guy I know was stopped for some dog-related infraction (not on a leash, no-dogs area, can't remember). The officer was going to write a ticket but ran his name and found that he had an unpaid ticket, which he was unaware of, for a previous dog-related infraction. So he was arrested and spent a night in jail.

The funny part of the story? He wrote this book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375726691/ekgv414-20).