dogs day

The Dallas City Council approved a new ordinance making it illegal to keep or sell a loose dog without making an effort to find its owner. Under the new ordinance, you violate the law if you take possession of a stray dog and knowingly fail to make, within 72 hours, a reasonable effort to locate the dog’s owner by: (1) calling the telephone number listed on the dog’s tags; (2) taking the dog to a licensed vet for a micro chip, tattoo or other ID screening and calling the owner identified through the screening; (3) calling 311 to request that animal services pick up the dog for identification and screening and impoundment; or (4) delivering the dog to the city’s animal shelter for identification and screening and impoundment. Violators could be fined up to $500.

Dog lover Brad Kirby is largely responsible for getting this ordinance passed. More than two years ago, his dogs were stolen from his yard and, although they were tagged and micro chipped, the dogs were never returned. In addition to working to get this ordinance passed, Kirby also started a website to make it easier to find lost dogs.