LAWS ABOUT DOGS 



give a kennel owner a lien for services 

 and supplies rendered. 



To foreclose the lien, send a registered 

 letter marked "deliver to the addressee 

 only" to the party who owns the dog. If 

 the letter is returned undelivered, insert 

 an ad in your local paper three times in 

 succession, stating that if "so and so" 

 does not call for the dog by a certain date, 

 about ten days in the future, the dog will 

 be sold publicly or privately for all 

 charges incurred. 



Then you can sell the dog and charge 

 all expenses, including the cost of the ad. 



If there is no buyer, you can sell the 

 dog to yourself for the sum of the charges. 



Veterinarian's lien — Calif. Civil Code '37 

 — Sec. 3051, 3051a, 3052. Unpaid boarding 

 charges. 111. Rev. Stat. '37 — C82, S 59 

 and C141, S3. 



A written contract in advance, covering 

 all conditions, clearly is advisable in any 

 state. 



4. Ownership for Show and Registration 

 Purposes 



The American Kennel Club and similar 

 organizations consider the ownership of a 

 dog only in respect to the registration of 

 the dog or of puppies of which the dog is 

 the parent ; or of the dog in connection 

 with its entry in a dog show. In all these 

 cases and for these purposes, the name of 

 the person on their registration or stud 

 books as the owner, is the owner of the 

 dog. 



5. Passage of Title Upon Sale 



Who owns a dog legally at times be- 



comes a question whose decision may be 

 determined by some light and delicate 

 considerations. 



Unless there is a distinct agreement 

 otherwise, either spoken or written, the 

 actual delivery of the dog carries the title 

 with it at the time of legal delivery to 

 the new owner. Where, however, ship- 

 ment of a dog is to be made, usually from 

 some distant point, title passes at the in- 

 stant the buyer's acceptance of the seller's 

 offer to sell is received by the seller, and 

 the seller's obligation ends upon delivery 

 of the dog to the express company or other 

 carrier. 



When John Jones in Pittsburgh receives 

 a letter from William Smith in St. Louis, 

 stating: "I inclose full purchase price for 

 the dog named Prince as offered in your 

 letter of July 13," the title then passes. 

 It is presumed the dog has not been dis- 

 posed of otherwise. 



However, John Jones as seller still has 

 obligations. He must be liable for all mat- 

 ters until the dog is actually delivered to 

 the express company or other carrier for 

 shipment. If he himself delivers by auto- 

 mobile for instance, even tho the dog is 

 no longer owned by him, he is responsible 

 for the safe delivery of the dog, in the 

 absence of definite agreement otherwise. 



If while the dog is in transit, by express 

 for instance, there is injury or loss of the 

 dog, the purchaser must make the neces- 

 sary claim as the dog is his legally. 



C — Licenses and Taxes 



1. Nature and Extent of Licenses and 

 Taxes 



By the logic of government, one must 

 pay for the exercise of natural rights. 

 The right to own a dog must be made 

 possible thru obtaining a license at the 

 owner's cost. 



The power to license dogs has been up- 

 held in various cases ; for instance, 

 McPhail vs. Denvel (Col.) 149 Pac. 257. 



This is an annual license; it is not 

 transferable (altho it should be), and in 

 itself, does not indicate ownership of a 

 dog. It is a license to keep a dog; one 

 pays for the privilege of keeping. The 

 license is issued in the name of the person 

 who keeps the dog. 



A license is void outside the state, city 

 or county in which it is issued. There is, 

 however, state courtesy (comity) just as 

 in the licensing of automobile owners. 

 When a dog is boarded, the license tag 

 should accompany the dog. 



A dog license is a license to keep a dog, 

 not to own a dog. When a dog is sent 

 to a boarding kennel, the true owner is 

 still keeping the dog tho at a different 

 address. A most important consideration 

 is that the license does not give to the 

 dog or to the owner any rights which 

 either would not have otherwise. The 

 licensed dog must obey and his owner also 

 must obey all regulations concerning dogs. 



In the case of Lacker vs. Strauss, Mas- 

 sachusetts Laws, Volume 226, page 579, 

 the rule is laid down that insofar as 

 property value and rights of dogs are 

 concerned, the unlicensed dog and the 



licensed dog are on the same basis. For 

 example, the fact that the dog on the 

 highway might not be licensed, does not 

 justify any negligence of an autoist who 

 runs down the dog. Also the theft of an 

 unlicensed dog is on a par with that of a 

 licensed dog. 



We quote the Massachusetts decision : 



"By the common law, as well as by the 

 law of most states, dogs are so far recog- 

 nized as property that an action will lie 

 for their conversion or injury. 



"The general rule supported by the 

 weight of authority is that the owner of 

 a dog, licensed or unlicensed, may main- 

 tain an action for damages against any 

 person or corporation wilfully or negli- 

 gently killing or injuring the animal. 



"We are of the opinion the general rule 

 should be followed as one sound in prin- 

 ciple. 



"The unlicensed dog was not a tres- 

 passer and outlaw upon the public high- 

 way." 



It appears, therefore, that the only legal 

 consequence between a liceniie and no li- 

 cense for a dog is that the owner or 

 keeper of the unlicensed dog is fined for 

 not taking out a license. 



2. Provisions of Individual License Fees 



The amount of the annual license fee 

 varies greatly in various governing bodies. 

 Usually there is a penalty on the female. 

 License fees vary from $1 up. In Chicago, 

 for instance, the annual license fee is $3, 

 no age minimum (in our opinion, a $2 

 annual fee should be the maximum). Buf- 

 falo requires a fee of $2 regardless of sex 



