[S]electboard members in the town of Newark complain of three municipal challenges: 1. road repairs, 2. trash and recycling costs, and 3. the headache that draws the most howls — dogs.
“Dog problems persist,” members wrote residents this winter. “The town is now employing the Caledonia County Sheriff to assist with complaints.”
Adds the Selectboard in Barnet: “One of the most difficult issues we face is dog control. Most of our citizens have no idea of how much time this particular item takes up.”
And local leaders in Bradford: “The beagle that was running loose last year generated about 75 calls in a 2½ week period. It was impossible to respond to every call. Thanks to everyone for the tips to help catch him.”
Flip through this month’s town meeting annual reports and you’ll find a growing number of Vermont communities seeking to collar lawless canines.
State law requires all dogs to be licensed annually by April 1. The registration fee includes a $5 statewide surcharge — up $1 this year to provide more money to the Vermont Spay or Neuter Incentive Program.
But many canines are rebelling against the rules. Take Middlesex.
“God love ’em, but they can be pains — literally,” writes the town clerk there. “One particularly troublesome dog who’d already been disciplined and, we’d hoped, restrained, sank his teeth into a passing jogger last summer, the day after he tried to attack a bicyclist. The same can be said for a group of dogs who thought it necessary to alert the neighborhood that they were awake — at 3 a.m.”
More and more communities fielding complaints are reminding owners of their responsibilities by adopting or amending dog ordinances.
“We passed a revised dog ordinance this year in the face of some dogs that were repeat offenders over many months,” writes the Selectboard in Fletcher. “We now fine the owners when dogs cause property damage, and we issue tickets to collect dog fees. We hope that dog owners will keep their dogs from running at large and destroying other people’s property.”
Add peers in Barnet: “For the first time in many years the town has an ordinance with a little more bite to it. Because of the hard work of our two constables, our local dog catcher and a little time, the dogs generating the most complaints no longer reside in the town.”
Municipalities say dog licenses help man and best friend alike by providing information to owners and officials. Vermonters seeking registration must bring records of rabies shots and spaying or neutering by April 1, as well as provide their pets with a collar and identification tag. If not, they, too, may find themselves in the doghouse.
“Please remember to let us know if you no longer have a dog,” notes the town clerk in New Haven. “Without you informing us, we have no way of knowing, and we feel terrible if we contact you about needing to license your dog.”
Add officials in Jericho: “We have started a memory book for dogs that are no longer living.”
Animal control officers admit that while dogs are a challenge, they have company. Of the 63 calls the town of Wolcott received this past year, half were “regular dog complaints,” while the rest involved (in alphabetical order), bears, cats, chickens, cows, geese, horses, pigs, raccoons, sheep and skunks.
“Along with the usual dog issues around town, we also were involved with cows roaming at large,” the Marshfield Selectboard says, “and the road crew spent a substantial amount of time and resources trying to keep up with the beaver populations.”
Not every town has gone to the dogs.
“The continued and wider use of social media sites has made locating and getting lost pets home much easier and quicker,” officials in Thetford report. “Many times, a dog’s behavior can be a result of neglect, mistreatment, being lost, scared or injured, but most times, dogs, like people, are not born mean, but react to situations.”
Consider that aforementioned “particularly troublesome dog” in Middlesex.
“A shelter in Berlin decided to take the wretched beast, who turned out to be quite the sweetheart,” writes the town clerk there. “A couple from Essex adopted him a few weeks after he was surrendered by his owner and they are living happily ever after.”
