As a society, we strive to create safe, humane communities that are good for people and good for pets. Responsible pet ownership laws help us to achieve these goals by requiring the humane care, custody and control of dogs by all dog owners.

Responsible pet ownership laws set acceptable and achievable standards of pet owner behavior, and then hold people to those standards. The standards should be agreed upon by all of the stakeholders in the community. A typical set of acceptable and achievable standards would include:

1. License your pet and provide permanent ID.

2. Provide proper care, training and socialization of your pet.

3. Spay and neuter your pet if it is not part of a responsible breeding program. A responsible pet ownership community would never mandate spay/neuter but provides education, makes spay/neuter services accessible and affordable to all citizens, and implements reasonable levels of differential licensing.

4. Do not allow your pet to become a threat or nuisance in the community.

5. Procure your pet in a responsible manner. 

These simple rules, along with enforcement of violations, combined with education to help create better pet owners, result in safe, humane communities. Read more by visiting the Responsible Pet Ownership section of this website.