City
might require microchip IDs for dogs
May 26, 2006
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Owners of Chicago's estimated 600,000 dogs would be required to
microchip their pets, limit tethering, pay stiff fines for letting
them roam free and choose between neutering and sharply higher
license fees, under a sweeping crackdown proposed by an influential
alderman.
Grooming, boarding and doggie day-care facilities would be licensed
and subject to strict operating standards under the legislative
package championed by License Committee Chairman Eugene Schulter
(47th).
A lifelong dog lover whose deceased Irish terriers Kerry and Conner
were "part of the family," Schulter said he's driven by a desire to
"create a safer and better environment" for Chicago's dogs.
Never was that need more evident than 18 months ago, when a dozen
dogs and four cats were discovered living in filth without food or
water at an unattended boarding facility at Leland and Clark in
Schulter's North Side ward.
That's when Schulter put his foot down. He convened a panel of 15
experts -- including veterinarians -- and asked them to come up
with a massive rewrite of the city's animal-care ordinance that
reins in irresponsible care that ultimately leads to aggressive
behavior.
'Take better care of our dogs'
"We're setting up an infrastructure in our city to take better care
of our dogs. People who don't, it sets a process in place, after
repeat offenses, to take those dogs away from them and putting them
in loving and caring environments," Schulter said. "In many areas
of the city, we have a huge problem with dogs running wild and
biting kids and adults. This will start to address some of those
issues."
Initially, Schulter was planning to require identifying microchips,
at a cost of $25, only for those dogs boarded at kennels. But,
after Hurricane Katrina, he decided to broaden it to include all
dogs six months or older. "There were so many dogs that were lost
because they could not find pet owners. That has encouraged us to
look at this more comprehensively" and require microchip scanners
at kennels, Schulter said.
Steve Dale, a radio talk show host and longtime local activist on
pet issues, said mandatory microchipping would help identify
"repeat offender" dogs.
Equally important, Dale said, are the proposals to limit tethering
-- which tends to cause aggressive behavior -- to three hours over
a 24-hour period with food and water, and to increase tenfold -- to
$50 -- the fee for licensing a non-neutered dog.