Article 5 in York Maine November 2010 Elections Passed

The articles and candidates are so easy to preview in this new age of the Internet.   Networking is still important, and on asking the animal control officer of York Maine what local laws might be coming up the pike, heads up was given on the article to amend the existing animal control laws regarding dogs.   I quickly found the wording of what was being voted on in our local government's site (see Article 5).   Why might you ask, is this the first that I am mentioning this, and after the election to boot?   To tell you the truth, while it's my general goal and mission to keep freedoms of responsible dog owners open, the head told me that many in York Maine have no business being out off leash.   While this law could negatively impact my ability to train my competition dogs, truthfully, the advantage and opportunity has not been exercised too much.  So it came down to three things:   The majority of dog owners here have not business having their dogs off leash.   I have no illusions that the dog owners of York Maine are going to instantly become more responsible (never mind the tourists who visit during May to October). While I do enjoy the privilege of having voice controlled off leash dogs on my back dirt roads, it's something I do not take advantage of enough. In politics and our communities, we have some bigger fish to fry at the moment. By the time it came up, there was no time to argue for an animal ordinance law more like a few other areas for dog owners to earn off leash rights (by proof of that obedience).    That being said, I am still torn on my decision to not campaign against the Article 5 in York Maine.   There are valid reasons to have campaigned against the legislation:   Once legislation like this is on the books, it is incredibly hard to amend or have taken off. I firmly believe that responsible dog owners, who have taken the time to train their dogs to be off leash, should have the opportunities and rights to keep that training up, current, and have use of that training. York Maine already had laws that no unattended not voice controlled dog should be off leash ANYWHERE in York Maine.   Clearly, these standing laws that have a minor difference now, were already close to impossible to enforce.  I don't understand what we would be different, except the time and money to change the law. York Maine's council members are known to be anti dog, and so I hate giving them an inch on any matters concerning dog owner rights.  In other words, it's a constant fear that this is just the beginning, as every election season we have canine amendments to animal ordinance laws coming up. I am not in favor of the hunting dog exemption, as these dogs are no more likely to be obedient and under voice control than anyone else's.  This type of legislation, instead of promoting dog training and reliability, instead gives dog owners more excuses and less opportunity to train their dogs.   In the future, I may try to call attention to other animal control ordinances that take responsible and tested dog ownership as a factor in rights and privileges granted.   The good news is, that I did not see long lines disallowed.   Therefore, much of my "off leash" training can still largely be done in these areas in the traditional way (that is before new fangled remote gadgets).  Of course, I also luckily own a good chunk of land in York Maine, where my dogs and my clients (trained to be off leash) dogs are free to play and run on.   Did you know of the animal control legislation questions or articles on your local ballot?   What are your thoughts on responsible dog owner rights to be able to exercise off leash rights?   MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE DOG TRAINING MANNERLY MUTTS MAINE DOG TRAINING BLOG E-MAIL MANNERLY MUTTS MAINE DOG TRAINER