05-09-2014, 06:01 AM
One of our neighbors works for HIHS... they do pick up free roaming pets & non-pet animals from all areas of the county, (most likely hard to tell which when you are picking up) and do TRY to check for microchips & contact owners...but there are times when animals that were picked up are put down that have microchips, or the owners do not respond in time (that time can be very short, as they intake far more animals than go out every month & space is a premium...)Of course, if your free roaming pet IS picked up, there is a fee to get it back...
I come from a very rural area where free range pets was more of the norm, but our area also did not have the quantity of feral animals that this county has (brutal winters do reduce the feral populations).
Given that we now live in a town area that has influxes of feral pigs, dogs, cats, goats, chickens,... I really doubt I could trust any of my pets to always obey and never to be tempted to follow the ferals, so I do keep mine in a fenced yard or on leash (this is very important for OUR dog, as she is deaf & cannot be recalled easily)
If I lived on a large acreage again, with a pet that had been raised for most of its' life on the property, I MIGHT decide to allow the pet some freedom (however I would also know that free ranging packs of ferals could rip the stuffing out of any of my animals, have seen the damage a feral dog pack can do...not sure I would make the decision to free range here...)
If you live in a residential area like a town area, if you decide it is OK for you to do anything that is regulated within the County Code, you better really have neighbors that always like you. If you think free roaming pets are OK (and are OK with all of the consequences), make sure every neighbor does too!
That is one of the realities about living here, it doesn't really matter what you think, it is what your neighbors will call you on that matters...
I come from a very rural area where free range pets was more of the norm, but our area also did not have the quantity of feral animals that this county has (brutal winters do reduce the feral populations).
Given that we now live in a town area that has influxes of feral pigs, dogs, cats, goats, chickens,... I really doubt I could trust any of my pets to always obey and never to be tempted to follow the ferals, so I do keep mine in a fenced yard or on leash (this is very important for OUR dog, as she is deaf & cannot be recalled easily)
If I lived on a large acreage again, with a pet that had been raised for most of its' life on the property, I MIGHT decide to allow the pet some freedom (however I would also know that free ranging packs of ferals could rip the stuffing out of any of my animals, have seen the damage a feral dog pack can do...not sure I would make the decision to free range here...)
If you live in a residential area like a town area, if you decide it is OK for you to do anything that is regulated within the County Code, you better really have neighbors that always like you. If you think free roaming pets are OK (and are OK with all of the consequences), make sure every neighbor does too!
That is one of the realities about living here, it doesn't really matter what you think, it is what your neighbors will call you on that matters...