Palm Beach County approves tougher requirements for dog owners (fans/AC/no tethering)

[The Straight Story]

Palm Beach County approves tougher requirements for dog owners
More shelter required, most tethering outlawed

Palm Beach County on Tuesday approved new protections for dogs, setting minimum outdoor shelter standards and outlawing most tethering of unattended dogs and other animals.

Commissioners passed the new measures at their meeting Tuesday. They set new guidelines for minimum living space and require air-conditioning, fans or shade for dogs kept outside when temperatures exceed 85 degrees.

They include more health protections for guard dogs as well as requirements for pet stores to disclose to customers where dogs and cats are bred and to provide health records. Punishment can include fines and having animals removed.

Hunters as well as guard dog business operators objected to the new rules, saying the shelter requirements and other guidelines could increase costs and lead to more people giving up their dogs.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-dog-commission-palm-20110315,0,3380365.story

[get the red out]

1. I wish the whole country would get on this bandwagon

It is so sad the way dogs are often treated. If you can't provide shelter for a dog you have no business having one. Our dog lives in the house so she has as much shelter as we do. I wish it were just illegal to sell dogs at pet shops, they are all from puppy mills and that promotes animal torture, if all people care about is $$$ then a pet shop puppy means the customer doesn't get what they pay for, I have read they tend to have a lot of health problems.

[xchrom]

2. fewer people should probably have dogs.

'Hunters as well as guard dog business operators objected to the new rules, saying the shelter requirements and other guidelines could increase costs and lead to more people giving up their dogs.'

if you can't properly care for them -- you can't have them.