Town Meeting season in New Hampshire is fast approaching. A wide variety of issues can be posed at your annual Town Meeting, especially if it’s the traditional style “group meeting”. Recently, breeders in a NH town were surprised to find out that a new restriction on the number of dogs a resident could own was passed at Town Meeting. The new restriction basically banned any new dog breeder from the town and those currently in residence were grandfathered but only if they maintained their current address.
This time of year, keeping an eye on your town’s website and local papers will give you time to prepare opposition to burdensome, unnecessary and inappropriate restrictions before they become local law. Email us if an unfriendly animal owner law is being proposed in your town.
SB 365 – requiring the sterilization of animals adopted from shelters mandates that licensed animal shelter sterilize all dogs and cats that they “sell, give away, adopt or otherwise transfer ownership of.”
There are no exemptions for the health or well-being of the animal nor is it clear whether this would apply to dogs and cats being reclaimed by their owners.
HB1417 – allowing companion dogs in certain areas of restaurants adds:
“A restaurant owner may allow, at the restaurant owner’s discretion, any person possessing a properly disciplined companion dog inside his or her place of business. Such dogs shall not be allowed in food preparation or production areas. Restaurant owners allowing companion dogs shall prominently display a sign at all public entrances advising patrons that companion dogs are allowed on the premises.”
to RSA 466:44 Dogs; Restaurants and Food Stores.
HB 1596 – relative to the civil forfeiture of unlicensed dogs makes changes to the licensing law. It shortens the grace period for late licensing of dogs and increases the costs.
- Changes from between June 1 and June 20 to between May 15 and May 31 as the date for the town clerk to create a list of unlicensed dogs.
- Sets June 10 as the latest date for the town to issue a forfeiture warrant for unlicensed dogs.
- Doubles the costs of service of the forfeiture warrant from $5 to $10.
HB 1639 -relative to the tethering of dogs amends RSA 644:8, IV-a(a), the animal cruelty statute, to allow an animal, suspected of being abused or neglected, to be taken into custody without a warrant even if there is no imminent danger to the animal’s health. Here is the proposed change:
“any appropriate law enforcement officer, animal control officer, or officer of a duly licensed humane society may take into temporary protective custody any animal when there is probable cause to believe that it has been or is being abused or neglected in violation of paragraphs III or III-a or when there is a clear and imminent danger to the animal’s health or life and there is not sufficient time to obtain a court order.” Read more…
Many years ago, DOGS helped to get passed a law that requires animal shelters to scan for microchips when an animal arrives at their facilities. One problem has always been determining which registry the owner may have used. Now, thanks to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), there is a central location to look up microchip numbers. Their database includes microchips registered with AKC CAR, HomeAgain, Petlink by Datamars and ResQ by Bayer (AVID, Banfield and 24PetWatch are not included).
The site is www.petmicrochiplookup.org When you enter a microchip number, if it is registered with one of the participating registries, you will be given the number of the proper registry to call to get more information.
During the 2009 NH Legislative Session, DOGS earmarked some 20 bills that would impact ownership, breeding, training and working with dogs and other companion animals. Due to the involvement of our members voicing their concerns to legislators, all of the bills had favorable outcomes. The final dispositions of the major bills that we were involved in are summarized below.
DOGS is a NH non-profit organization and an American Kennel Club affiliated federation that represents NH dog and other companion animal owners. Our members are involved in all aspects of pet ownership. To become a supporting member of DOGS’ programs and our legislative advocacy efforts contact Joyce Arivella, DOGS President, at DOGS@NHdogs.org .
Read more…
The Laconia Planning Board is working on redefining what constitutes a kennel. From The Citizen
“The city currently defines a kennel as “an establishment in which three or more dogs or puppies, cats or kittens are housed, groomed, bred, boarded, trained or sold for a fee or compensation.” That language caused confusion earlier this year when owners of more than two dogs who came to register them with the City Clerk’s officer were told they had to get a special exception or a variance with the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The city suspended that practice, however, and the planning board has been working on and off since April to say with precision what constitutes a “kennel.”
If you own more than two dogs and live in Laconia, you might want to monitor this situation. Here’s a link to the Laconia Planning Board
The Manchester Union Leader is reporting that a stray cat in Keene tested positive for rabies after attacking someone on their porch. New Hampshire law requires that every dog, cat or ferret aged 3 months or older shall be vaccinated for rabies. Unfortunately, some owned cats in the neighborhood had to be euthanized because they may have been exposed and their owner couldn’t provide proof of vaccination. The owner’s only other choice would have been to pay for a 6 months quarantine.
So, please everyone, vaccinate your cats for rabies! Even inside cats can be exposed.
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