BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Humane Society wants the people in the Treasure Valley to weigh in on the issues in Ada County that matter to them.
They say a number of people have reached out to them with concerns about pet limit laws and the sale of sick puppies.
"It helps us solidify things moving forward with our newly elected officials and of course the ones that have been in their seats for some time," Idaho Humane Society Spokesperson Kristine Schellhaas said.
It starts with a question on if there should be a ban on the sale of commercially bred cats and dogs in retail stores. The question is about stores like Surf's Up Puppy Shack in Meridian, which recently sold four puppies that contracted parvo shortly after they were bought.
"We just want to prevent this kind of store from happening in the future," Schellhaas said. "We don't believe any good outcome can come from a re-seller of puppies or cats in this manner."
The ordinance in question though would not pertain to private breeders who sell directly to the customer.
"We don't think any responsible breeder would sell their dog to a middle person to then re-sell," Schellhaas said.
The survey also tackles more topics like dogs in hot cars, specifically breaking into a car to save a dog and if people will face any legal trouble for doing so.
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"So there's a number of steps and protocols in place to safeguard the dog but again that's just things we're looking for to weigh in from the public," Schellhaas said. "It is not going to open up the law to someone walking by and seeing a dog resting comfortably in the car and breaking a window."
The dog would have to be in distress, and certain guidelines would have to be met before any potential forced entry into the car. The person would have to call 911 before opening the car, and would need to make sure officers are on route. Once the officers get to the scene, the person would need to stick around and hand the dog over to the officers.
Another issue the survey asks is about transporting pets in vehicles safely.
"We have received a number of animals that have either died on the side of the road that someone watched fall off the back of a pickup," Schellhaas said. "Or the dog jumped out last minute on the freeway, it happens more often than you think it does."
Starting Monday, the organization will be collecting survey responses on their website and social media pages. Once the survey closes, they'll take a look at the data and see what people say.
Other questions on the survey pertain to lifetime dog licenses, a county-wide licensing program compared to licensing by individual cities, amending pet limit ordinances to have more uniformity throughout municipalities, and clarifying excessive noise nuisances.
The Idaho Humane Society says the data collected will be used to talk about the issues important to people with local leaders and suggest possible ordinance changes.