Discount cards seek to increase dog licenses

Discount cards like this will be handed out along with 2012 dog licenses for Lucas County.

…it is estimated that nearly half of the dogs in Lucas County are unlicensed.

Officials say that compares favorably with the state's other metropolitan counties, but still means some 52,000 dogs are less likely to be returned home if lost -- and more likely to be killed if impounded. Dog advocates hope two initiatives being rolled out this fall by the Lucas County Auditor's Office could change that…

"There are a lot of benefits that people don't necessarily think about, they just think of it as a tax," Ms. Lyle said…

…license fees are the primary funding source for her office. So, potentially there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in license fees not being collected across the county -- money that could be used to take care of dogs under Ms. Lyle's control, help facilitate adoptions, or pay for improvements at the pound…more

Cat executed for panting in Lebanon, Ohio

Open Season on Cats in Lebanon, Ohio

Imagine you’re an 8-year old, overweight cat, who wandered away from home and got lost…

You’re just about ready to leave, when a human with a gun strides into the yard and points it at you. Since you’re a pet cat and you’re not feral, you’re not afraid of humans, and of course you have no idea what a gun is. So you just lie there, not knowing you’re about to get shot in the head and die. What was your crime? You lay down and panted in a neighbor’s yard, in the city of Lebanon, Ohio, where policemen with no veterinary knowledge whatsoever can execute cats on sight just for looking sick.

This is what happened to Dori Stone’s cat, Haze, who went missing Friday, August 19, and was shot one day later by a police officer whose identity has been withheld…

“We love our cats, do you know what it was like to pull your pet . . . out of the garbage bag and his head is bloody with a bullet hole in it?”

says Stone…

…Stone says that Haze was well-groomed and obviously not a stray. He wasn’t wearing tags, but she had reported her missing cat to the Humane Association, who the police never contacted. According to WKRC, Stone and her husband “plan to lobby for changes in the police policy.” Hopefully, it will be in time to save the next supposedly sick, stray cat…more