Limiting dogs in Piscataway!
Can a town limit dog ownership?
An amended law in Piscataway, New Jersey is limiting the number a dogs that a household may own and care for. Wow!!! That sounds crazy, similar to what it is in China, where they limit the number of children a family can have. This is America, right? The law, which went into affect last Fall limited the number of dogs to three that a household could own. However, the law was recently amended to those registering their 4th or fifth dog in 2009 and from here forward.
There are a number of problems with this law. A resident of Piscataway, says the following, “It’s like limiting the number of cars we can own, or the number of children we can have,” said Jeff Powers, a Piscataway resident since 1993 who breeds dogs, but not professionally. Also, people fearing that they have violated the law will abandon their dogs or drop them off at local shelters, causing the shelters to exceptionally overburdened.
There is one gentleman in the town who rescues greyhounds after they have been injured and can no longer race. This law would significantly hurt and perhaps curtail these efforts. A current law on the books in Piscataway says that if you have five or more dogs, it is considered a kennel and you must have a separate license anyway….so one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing.
Why a law such as this? Well it appears that there were some complaints about two homes in the township where there was constant barking. One turned out to be an illegal puppy mill. So, is it right to limit the activities of dog owners who take good care of their dogs, three or more, because their are but a few people who don’t live up to their responsibilities? I think not.
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