[ SHOWGSD-L ] Effective VETO HB339 Work by VA Borzoi Owner Jane Schreiber
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 21:44:08 -0400
Ginger Cleary
He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from
opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that
will reach himself. ~Thomas Paine
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POWHATAN TODAY
APRIL 5, 2006
By Darrell Elder
House Bill 339 has made its way to Gov. Tim Kaine's desk. The bill,
which would require veterinarians to report all animals which
received a rabies vaccination to local treasurer's offices, has
passed both houses of the General Assembly. After vaccination is
reported to the treasurer's office, it is intended that the
treasurer check to see if the pet's owners purchased a county dog
license. If not, the office would bill the resident for the fee.
Powhatan's treasurer Faye Barton insists that the bill will not
accomplish what the author intended. She says, although the county
experiences a loss of revenue because of the large number of people
who do not license their dogs, the cost to handle the new process
would offset the collected revenue. from dog licenses. Currently,
she reports, about 3,000 licenses are sold each year at $3 for
spayed or neutered dogs and $5 for dogs not fixed. With that she
prepared a rough, off the top of the head assumption that about
$40,000 a year in lost revenue is experienced. Barton says with the
increased manpower to manage the new process which would include
sending rabies reports to the correct locality (when non-Powhatan
residents visit Powhatan vets), sending bills to owners of
unlicensed dogs and then following collections procedures to recoup
on unpaid bills, she calculates the need for another full-time staff
member.
Powhatan veterinarian Tom Fore, of Claws and Paws, also strongly
opposed HB339. With a slight differing perspective, Fore believes
that the passage of the bill would deter dog lovers from bringing
stray dogs in for rabies shots and reduce their likelihood of having
their pets vaccinated. "The big thing with rabies is about
protecting the public health. My biggest concern is, is this going
to halt rabies shots?" Fore also questions whether the extra
paperwork will drive up the cost of rabies vaccinations. "We need to
try to facilitate dog owners getting rabies shots, not making it
harder for pe9ple," he adds. Fore, who has been a practicing
veterinarian in the Richmond area for 25 years, insists he is very
concerned if HB339 is the right thing for the public health.
Although Del. Lee Ware can understand the intent of the bill, he did
not support it. Ware said in a telephone interview on Saturday that
knowing the representative who introduced the bill, he is confident
it was well intended. He explained that his opposition is two-fold.
First, passage would in a sense make veterinarians officers of the
state. "It would require them to submit information to the county
treasurer." Second, Ware said that although the bill is intended to
increase the number of rabies vaccinations as well as dog licensing,
the number of dogs being vaccinated is more than likely to
decrease. "There has been a concerted effort to get the governor to
veto (HB339)," Ware reported.
The increased awareness of the status of this bill was raised by
county resident Jane Schreiber in a "letter to the editor" in last
week's Powhatan Today. Schreiber adds that as an owner I of
performance dogs, she tries to stay abreast of legislation that
impacts dog owners. She is involved with an alert group who tries to
keep the public informed. Schreiber thinks that passage of the
proposed legislation would particularly impact kennels and hunt club-
type places. "Responsible dog owners already do it (license their
dogs). It's animal control's job to enforce it," she insists.
Instead of passing the bill requiring veterinarians to report rabies
vaccines to government officials, Schreiber suggests raising public
awareness and having law enforcement more strictly enforce
licensing. Similar to other laws, "you can't legislate morality,"
Schreiber says.
Schreiber urges residents to call the governor at (804) 786- 2211
and tell him to veto HB339.
_______________________________________________________________
Virginians: Have you contacted Governor Kaine, urging him to veto
HB339? Has your vet called? How about your county treasurer?
See contact details at http://vhdoa.uplandbirddog.com/VETO_HB339.html
Bob Kane
Virginia Hunting Dog Owners' Association
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