PETS: Something you need to know

Lindsay Prumers, cat owner, states, “I don’t understand why they are doing this. They don’t understand how important the pets are to the family.” Lindsay, you should understand this:

Article 6.05.090: Disturbing the Peace: It is unlawful for any person owning, harboring or having the care, custody or possession of any animal, bird or fowl to keep or maintain or cause or permit to be kept or maintained upon any premises in the City or upon any public street, highway, sidewalk, alley, park, playground, or other public place in the City, any animal, bird or fowl which by any barking, howling, whining, crowing or by any source or cry disturbs the peace and comfort of any reasonable person or interferes with the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of life or property, excluding the animal control shelter.

The minute anyone opens their door to let their pet out without having a fully contained area on their property, that person is making a conscious decision to put their pet at risk of harm or death. That decision also risks the “comfortable enjoyment of life or property” of others. Many people do understand how important pets are to a family. My extended family are pet owners. They love and care for their pets as if they were a child. You certainly wouldn’t put your 3-month-old child outside to fend for itself.

There are alternatives to putting your pet at risk. One of my nieces, owner of three cats, has a fully contained cat-run in her back yard. It has direct access from the house and all the amenities that her cats can enjoy. A sister, who also has three cats, has a cat-containment addition installed on top of her fenced back yard.

It would be fair to estimate that a majority of garages contain antifreeze or other lawn fertilizer chemicals, ant killers, bug sprays, etc., that could be harmful to a pet. There is nothing “mysterious” about your cat dying and nothing wrong with a person using an Airsoft gun to ward off trespassing predators on their own property. In fact, I’m thinking about getting one to ward off predators that climb my fence hunting my beloved birds. And pee, poop and spray on my beloved fruit, vegetable and flower gardens, which, in my opinion, is a clear violation of “comfortable enjoyment of life or property.” It would be interesting to hear from our local law enforcement on where they stand on this issue.

Your neighbor is not poisoning your pets. When you decide to open that door to let your pet out, you are not only at risk of being in violation of Article 6.05.090 but killing your own beloved pet.

JOANN LOKKEN

Coeur d’Alene