I received tons of emails about this great development. The Examiner reports, D.C. proposes looser restrictions on urban chickens:
“Ward 6 D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells is proposing to erase rules that prohibit fowl within 50 feet of any building “used for human habitation,” a regulation that denies most District residents the opportunity to harbor hens.”
So be honest: If this passes who’s going to get a chicken?
Photo from PoPville flickr user *tinadelarosa
“Dear PoP,
Just found this in the D.C. Municipal Regulations, which appears to remain
the rule of the land…
From Title 22
103.15 Any dog going at large between May 15 and October 15th in any year
that is not properly muzzled shall be taken up by the pound master, who
shall charge the dog’s owner one dollar ($1) for its redemption.
103.16 Any dog that is not redeemed within twenty-four (24) hours after
being taken up by the pound master may be shot by the pound master.
I assume they don’t just shoot dogs any more.”
What’s the significance of May 15 and October 15th? Is that when dogs are in heat or something? There’s no way they still shoot dogs is there?
“I’m writing because my dog, Olive, got loose this morning (Wed. 9/23) and ran off in Columbia Heights, possibly running down into LeDroit Park. I’m hoping you can post these photos and description.
Olive is a 2 year old, small/medium (25 lb), black and white border collie-corgi mix. She looks like a border collie with the body type and short legs of a corgi.
Olive is wearing a yellow flowered collar with tags and is micro-chipped. Her tags include my phone number so I’m praying that someone finds her or just spots her and calls me at 330-554-3658. We are posting flyers in the area with this information.
She slipped out of the house this morning on the corner of Sherman and Kenyon and ran south down Georgia Ave. She was spotted mid-morning around S street and Florida Ave and may have been spotted again at U and 1st. She may still be in this area or hopefully she is making her way back home towards 3214 Sherman Ave, near Harriet Tubman Elementary School.
We love Olive very much and will happily give a cash reward to anyone that can help bring her home. She is skittish with strangers, so approaching her slowly would work best. Cheese is her favorite treat and may help coax her.”
“Dear PoP,
Out walking my dogs yesterday morning, I found a little dog (a Bichon Frise) wandering the neighborhood without a collar or tags. We brought him home, reported finding him to the Humane Society, posted notice on neighborhood lists, and have walked extensively around the neighborhood with him looking for the owner or anybody who recognizes the dog, with no luck.”
If this is your dog please leave your email in the comments or contact me directly. Thanks.
This dog was so chill just coolin’ on his porch. I like how he even had his own furniture out there…
For some reason I’ve had a lot of posts on poop scooping. I’m not sure what that says about me… But anyway, I thought this sign from Mt. P was really kicking the whole thing up a notch.
I’d love to see the reaction of the cops when someone walks in with a video tape making this complaint…
Ed. Note: photo by thrashfall found on Flickr not the dog in question.
“Dear PoP,
I am a dog lover (we have 2) and so while the dog is annoying I am really upset at the owners. This dog is fenced in an empty lot that is over-run with weeds and debris. It stays locked up inside the fence all day and has never been out. It has a big tent with a dog house under it, and the owners come by at least once a day, so it gets adequate shelter and hopefully food and water but little exercise or love. The owner says that the dog is from a long line of military attack dogs and he is training it according to some German military dog school to do God only knows what. (clearly not training it to lick babies faces) The dog barks all day and all night at everything. It has become beyond annoying for everyone in the surrounding houses. Isn’t there noise violation laws?
Also, I just can’t believe that it is legal to keep a dog locked up in an empty lot that you (possibly) own in a neighborhood that you don’t live in. The owner shows up on bike everyday to “train” the dog for a few hours and then takes off. Can you really just buy a lot and put up a fence and house your dog there? The lot isn’t even properly maintained. Finally, if the dog gets out he is going to seriously injure or kill someone. Is it legal to own and train a dog in this manner? There are lots of little kids in the neighborhood and I just feel it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. I have talked to several neighbors and all of us are very upset. Animal Control has been out twice and apparently approves of this and the city has been out twice and apparently approves of the current state of the trash strewn and overgrown weed infested lot. This dog needs a new home and I need help on how to get this done. Any suggestions from the PoP Nation would be most helpful.”
This seems like a very sad situation. We sorta addressed this issue last December when Albemarle, MD was going to pass an ordinance stating if a dog barks for more than 30 minutes it’s owners could be taken to court. At the time folks didn’t think the police would be able to enforce such a law. But what do you guys recommend in this particular instance? I wonder if you could talk to the owner and mention that the barking has become a problem? Or should animal control be called? And, per the reader’s request, does anyone know DC’s laws regarding noise violations?
“Dear PoP,
I recently became the proud owner of a wonderful Lab, my first dog in my adult life. She’s very well behaved and loves people but not so fond of her fellow canines. I don’t have a lot of outdoor space and would like to take her out for more than a walk on the sidewalks of Columbia Heights. She only likes the dog park a Park and 11th when she’s the only one there which isn’t too often. I was wondering if your readers could suggest some dog friendly parks, cafes and other neighborhood public places where I could take her, especially now that the weather is going to get cooler. BTW, she loves to go to Eastern Market on Sundays.”
Hmm, I’m curious what others offer but I know their is a new dog park coming to 17th and S, there is also one at 11th and R and another in Adams Morgan in the park right after the Ellington Bridge. Where do other folks like to take their dogs?
Maybe the coolest cat contest got you thinking about getting one of your own? A reader writes:
“This cat showed up and was so friendly and beautiful that we figured someone must have lost him. But, he is still hanging around. I have pictures of him, attached. He is so sweet (he will let you hold him like a baby), but we already have enough cats. Could you please put him on your website so maybe someone will adopt him?”
If interested email – Paige at [email protected]
The following story written by “WDC” was inspired by yesterday’s post, The Mice are Menacing. Even though it doesn’t take place in DC I thought it was a great story. The photo is actually the author’s pet – Colby. The cost of publishing Raider’s photo is far too high for this little blog.
“Cities have mice. Even urban ivory towers are invaded from time to time, a reality to which a certain high-profile business school in a city somewhere north of here can attest. The University Powers fervently believed in the market. It’s their bread and butter, after all. So they hired experts… the more expensive, the longer the wait, the better. They bought gadgets and potions with the kind of frenzy one normally associates with the tricking-out of Republican vice-presidential candidates. To no avail. Staff snacks were continually defiled. Co-eds still had daily excuses to shriek and jump into the arms of waiting swains. Chaos threatened.
The University Powers formed committees, dispatched consultants, thought outside the box, leveraged resources, circled back, sought buy-in, touched base. I can only assume that the first person (likely a newcomer to the University, unfamiliar with their ways) to suggest getting a cat received stares disbelieving, withering, and contemptuous. But in the end, ever more desperate for a solution, they agreed. Of course, it had to be a cat worthy of the University. His name was to be Raider. As in, Corporate. This was decided before the junior member of the committee was even dispatched to the animal shelter, I’m sure.
Raider joined the University staff. He was housed in the basement of an administrative building, sharing his space with I.T. and H.R. He was assigned an email address and Outlook calendar. Should any staff member spot a mouse in her environs, she had only to send a scheduling request to Raider via email. At 5:15 in the evening, Raider was brought to the office, with all his accoutrements—food, water, litterbox, and a small radio. Raider worked best with a little music. (I imagine it like that scene in Reservoir Dogs.) His visits were so efficient and (presumably) ferocious that the mice didn’t return for months afterwards. He cleaned up after himself, too, depositing his leftovers in the litterbox, so as not to alarm the office’s normal occupant. And by 7:45 the next morning, he was tucked into his carrier and returned to the basement of the administrative building, where he spent his downtime sleeping in inboxes and file drawers, and shredding any bulletin board within reach. Continues after the jump. (more…)