Go Muzzle Yourself.
Now that the first festivals of the year have passed…and we
couldn’t possibly have any more city hall issues out there, I have turned my
thoughts to the muzzling of dogs. This
is not about “should you bring your dog to an event?” It is not a liability primer concerning
dogs. And it is not about how hot
pavement must be painful to the pads of the dog’s feet. No, this is just questioning why we have an
ordinance muzzling your dog in city festivals or parks or well, wherever.
My go-to logic says, “What do other cities do?” Naturally, I tend to think of places that we
might be willing to visit or to live in ourselves. How about Lexington, Austin or
Nashville. What do they say about “the
muzzle ordinance?” As a Google user it
is easy to find out. All three of these
very livable cities do not consider muzzling dogs enough of an issue to make it
an ordinance. O.K. You got me. They do
mention “vicious dogs.” But really, what is it that we know that the aforementioned
cities don’t know? Maybe we have
discovered that the muzzle ordinance is the “cutting edge” of truly livable
cities and by retaining the ordinance we will leapfrog Nashville, Lexington and
Austin.
My guess is that our city is simply, just more risk averse,
but risk abounds in everyday life. I
suspect we may be told that we are safer when dogs are muzzled in public, but
that is hardly quantifiable. It just seems strange that three very livable cities
have gone one way, and we have gone another.
Let the muzzles be removed and your comments begin.
I too have done some Googling and some chatting with other folks in other cities about this issue... largely I believe that we are solving a problem that we don't have! I'm pretty sure that we could abandon or at least modify the language of the ordinance so that the City can continue to be 'held harmless' if there ever is an incident.
ReplyDeletePeople who need to bring their dogs into large random groups of strangers really need to do their own soul searching but this probably isn't that forum...
Allen, the dog muzzle ordinance is new to me. Didn't know we had one. That may be because I've never seen a muzzled dog in Paducah that I can remember. I walk my dog on a leash, always, but don't even own a muzzle. Thanks for re-visiting this topic. The entire commission should, with an eye toward killing an ordinance it won't enforce. Thanks from Tom Butler.
ReplyDeleteI never muzzle my dogs, I figure if no one else does why should I.......
ReplyDeleteI read that there was a muzzle-your-dog rule for the LTAMF, but while I saw many (leashed) pups on the stre ets of LowerTown during the Festival, I saw only one muzzle on any dog. And FWIW I also saw many members of the Paducah police department on the job. Does anyone know if any citations were issued during LTAMF for non-muzzle-compliance?
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ReplyDeleteI am frequently amazed by the absent mindedness of many pet owners. A dog is still an animal and can be unpredictable. ESPECIALLY when brought face to face with a small child. Add in street vender food droppings or the treat said child may be holding. If everyone is doing their job and the dog is in fact an angel not an animal then there should be no issue. Alas, there is so much room for err in this equation. Muzzling is a pain. Good dogs don't need a muzzle. Usually.
ReplyDeleteSome of the kids running around at festivals need to be muzzled.
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