Thursday, 26 January 2012
Arizona Dog Owners Could Benefit From Pet Insurance
Lawmakers in Arizona are considering legislation that would enable dog owners to let their pets run free as long as the animals are insured to cover any damage they may do. Sen. Lori Klein, R-Anthem, drafted the idea and said currently dogs need to be on leashes when in public, but if the owners had coverage up to a minimum of $50,000 then they wouldn’t need to be leashed. She reasoned that if the dogs are well-behaved and insured there’s no reason they couldn’t be let loose.
According to an article by the East Valley Tribune, Klein doesn’t like the current laws which force dogs to be leashed even while sitting in their owners’ unfenced front yards. However, her idea didn’t go down too well with animal-control and law-enforcement officers at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Government Reform. Senator Frank Antenori also had his doubts about the idea.
Klein said she feels the current laws for off-leash dogs are being enforced too aggressively. She believes if the owner has insurance on the dog to cover for damages and injuries then the owner is responsible enough to let the animal off its leash. She argued that if a dog is under proper control then it should be allowed to play in a park.
Mark Cousins of the Phoenix police said insuring the pets doesn’t equate to public safety. He said the best way to ensure safety is to prevent harm from happening, not to compensate for damage after the fact. He said the current leash laws protect the public and the animals. He added that good dogs and under-control dogs can suddenly become uncontrolled at any time.
The Maricopa County Animal Care and Control department also said the proposal has holes in it. It said that bad dog owners simply have to buy an insurance policy and can then let their pets out the front door to roam at large without taking care of them properly. The animal control organization also said there’s no legal definition of “trained and under control” and it would simply be too hard to prove if an animal is properly trained.
In addition, opponents to the measure asked if dog owners would have to carry insurance policies with them or would control officers have to follow the owner home to see proof of insurance. It appears Klein is barking up the wrong tree with this proposal and most Arizona residents would be surprised if it became law.
