Overview
Responsible pet ownership communities, relying on input from all stakeholders in the community, set acceptable and achievable standards of pet owner responsibilities, and then hold people to those standards. The result? Safer, more humane communities for all people and pets.
View Points
Breeds and Behaviorby Janis Bradley reprinted from The Bark (April/May 2011)
Reading Suggestions
The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog
Janis Bradley, author of Dogs Bite, but Balloons and Slippers are More Dangerous and Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions and founding faculty member and instructor for ten years at the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, explores the relevance of breed in selecting a companion dog.
Responsible Pet Ownership Communities
The vast majority of animals that fill our shelters or end up on our streets have arrived at that situation because a human relationship has failed them. Whatever companion animal problems we confront – bites, strays, surrenders – it’s not a dog problem we have to solve, but a people problem.
The solution lies in creating responsible pet ownership communities, which includes a responsive animal services agency.
A responsible pet ownership community is built from a community consensus as to what constitutes acceptable pet owner behavior. Each community might be different, but the basic building blocks of a responsible pet ownership community should include the following simple elements:
1. License and provide permanent identification for pets.
2. Spay or neuter pets.
3. Provide training, socialization, proper diet and medical care for pets.
4. Do not allow pets to become a threat or nuisance in the community.
Some communities are developing a fifth principle, as well: ethical procurement. Know where your pet came from, and choose pets from responsible breeders, shelters or rescues.
Read about Calgary, Alberta, a model responsible pet ownership community.
An increasing number of agencies in the U.S. are emphasizing service to community pet owners, rather than just the traditional code enforcement role. Below is a very partial list of examples.
Salt Lake County Animal Services: Click here to see recent amendments to the county's animal ordinances under the principles of Responsible Pet Ownership.
Washoe County Regional Animal Services: Click here to read more about Washoe County's service-oriented approach.
Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services: According to JACPS Director Scott Trebatoski:
"Shelters, especially public shelters, need their goals to be keeping the animal on hand as short of time as possible through direct adoption or transferring, and that the total number of animals leaving the shelter alive is the true measure."
Read more about Jacksonville here.
Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services (SCRAPS): The SCRAPS mission is:
Building a more humane community, protecting public safety and ensuring animal welfare through compassionate, responsive, professional enforcement of laws and public policy.
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