Syracuse is acting on dog problems.
/ Andy Wolf
Dogs have long been considered man's best friend, but many dogs in Syracuse can't find a friend in the world. Registration is part of the reason for the city's problem with dogs. The city has no way of knowing which dog belongs to what owner if they are non registered.
The Common Council announced Thursday night that dog licensing will now become available online. You can do this through the clerks office once it becomes operational. New York State law requires that the first time registering a dog be in person. Much of the issue with dogs not being registered has to do with after the registration expires. After the first license expires after three years, you can then update it online.
Dog Control will also have a better way of tracking dogs. Everything used to be in paper, but they are making the switch over to a digital format making it easier to locate dogs.
"I think this is more an idea to get law abiding citizens dogs registered," says Syracuse Common Councillor Bob Dougherty.
Much of the meeting turned to dog safety, as the city has seen its fair share dog abuse this week.
Phil Prehn has owned several dogs throughout his life. "Unfortunately over half of the dogs taken by the city's animal control are ended up euthanized," says Prehn.
Nicole Heath co-founded Cuse Pit Crew, which looks to defend pit bulls from their popular stereotype. "We're actually here to ask if they would form a task force where we could all group together to combat some of the issues related to dog fighting (and) back yard breeding," says Heath.
The Council agreed to start an informal task force to look into what can be done to better serve the community. "I think that we might be better off trying to look at unscrupulous breeding, as so many people have mentioned backyard breeders. I think we might be able to catch those people more than dog fighters," says Dougherty.
