A Pet Ownership Primer

This is my attempt to provide my community, and any community for that matter, an up-to-date primer to follow when considering the noble art of pet ownership. The main reason it is noble is simply because there are so many animals available with the need for a home. This fact, alone, makes it noble. Now, a person should decide why it is that they want the pet. To be noble? Companionship? Protection? The pet world is a broad marketplace that includes everything from cute to killer and usually someone who is after one extreme is not after the other. There are rules that govern pet ownership that vary from state to state also. Here in Tennessee there are leash laws that make it illegal to let your pet out of the home uncontrolled, hence the word 'leash'. This law covers all pets...from a cute little kitten to a vicious Doberman Pinscher. This is for the safety of everyone...not just pet owners. It also helps keep uncontrolled animals from crapping on private property. Other laws are noise ordinances. Here, constant barking or noise of any kind after 10pm until 7am is unlawful. It's a law, but a cop isn't going to enforce this without what is called a complaint. If any citizen's peace and quiet is disturbed in this way he or she can call in a complaint and there are proceedures whose ends are to put an end to the disturbance. The only problem seems to be that certain pet owners are aware of the rules and expend tremendous energy working around them. I've noticed in my neighborhood how the incessant barking of dogs curiously occurs during the hours when the Animal Control offices are closed, making it harder for someone to lodge a complaint. Some owners don't like the barking in their home...they can't sleep at night...imagine that! Some of them remedy this by letting the animal outside (fenced or chained of course) so everyone else can enjoy it. Multiply this by the uncanny numbers of what I'd call 'bad owners' and you can see how fast the neighborhood becomes a literal kennel. If you are thinking of joining the crowd as a brand new pet owner, the best thing to do would be to learn the rules, and keep one thing in mind that the rules do NOT explain...it's easy to love your pet but hard to remember not to force everyone else to.