It’s in the news, it’s in the air! It’s spring time and the Salt Lake County Council has been meeting to determine if the pet limit in unincorporated Salt Lake County should be removed.
In a meeting on Tuesday, March 29, 2011, the County Council voted on a new plan to reduce the number of animals in the Salt Lake County Shelter. Included was not only to remove the pet limit, but to require the licensing of cats and increase the fine for those whose pets are not licensed. The following results are quoted from the Salt Lake Tribune:
• Require the licensing of cats. Although felines wouldn’t necessarily have to wear a collar, they would need to have a $5 license that comes with a free microchip. (Passed 7-2, with Republicans Steve DeBry and Richard Snelgrove opposed.)
• Increase the fine for people who don’t license their pets. The county would give a warning for the first violation, a $125 citation for the second and a $250 fine for the third. (Passed 8-1, with DeBry as the lone dissenter.)
• Erase the limit on how many pets can live in the same household. Irresponsible pet owners would be controlled by nuisance and animal-care ordinances. (Passed 8-1, with Republican David Wilde voting no.)
The pet limit is a structure that does not work when trying to keep the number of animals in shelters to a minimum. Actually, for people who rescue and adopt dogs and cats, the limit can be bad for the animals that need homes. Many people keep four to six dogs on a regular basis and all the dogs are happy and healthy and have wonderful lives. It’s not the number of dogs a person has, it’s the quality of life that they have which should be monitored. Dogs should be cared for with good food, shelter, and love. They should be part of the family and held in high regard. Limiting the number of dogs does not guarantee that this happens.
Removing the pet limit will not cause people to run out and adopt five or ten more dogs. People know their limits. For those who have more dogs than they can properly care for, that is called animal hoarding. Laws should be in effect, and are, to prevent animal hoarding. Animal hoarding is a mental illness and needs to be treated as such.
This is a great step in the right direction for Salt Lake County! Hopefully other areas of Utah will follow suit. Salt Lake County is adopting what they call the “Responsible Pet Owner Pact.” This has been adopted by following the Calgary Animal Control Model. Please read the blog post about this on the Salt Lake County Animal Services Blog:
SLCo Animal Service Blog Responsible Pet Ownership Pact.
UtahDogs.com is excited to see this change happen! While there will be another meeting next week, and then a 15 day waiting period before the changes are adopted, we are eagerly awaiting the finalization of the changes!
We have been lucky here in West Jordan as four dogs can be licensed and legal in one home for about 8 years now.
oook so is this law affective already???i have 8 dogs and i love them they are well take care of and have all there shots ..can i keep my dogs without getting in trouble?????????????????
These new rules went into effect in the spring of 2011. Unincorporated Salt Lake County no longer has a pet limit!