As you may or may not be aware, the Chatham County Commission passed an animal control ordinance on May 12th, 2017, which will require you to spay/neuter your dog(s) if they are registered with Continental Kennel Club (CKC)–“AKC and similar registries” are exempt from this provision.
If you are a licensed breeder and have bred dogs on your premises, and if you have CKC registration instead of registration from “AKC and similar registries”, as listed at the animal services website, the ordinance means that you must spay/neuter your dogs by July 1st, 2017, or you will be required to pay a $250.00 fee for not doing so. If you fail to spay/neuter your dog(s) within 5 days of the notice, you will then be required to pay an additional $1000.00 fine to Chatham County officials. You can view the new animal control ordinance HERE. See section 22-201- 8-c and 22-202ab.
Click on Registry Requirements to download the list of “recognized registries.” Note that Continental Kennel Club is missing from the list. We have supplied ample documentation to Chatham County to warrant our organization’s inclusion into the list as a recognized registry, yet the county officials, including Director of Animal Services Kerry Sirevicius and County Manager Lee Smith, have come up with criteria, after the fact, that will effectively outlaw CKC from being a “recognized registry” in Chatham County, thereby making it illegal to own an intact CKC-registered dog in Chatham County as of July 1st, 2017.
Therefore, Continental Kennel Club advises you to contact your county commissioner immediately and let him/her know:
That you take issue with this new ordinance, which effectively gives the Director of Animal Services the authority to spay/neuter CKC-registered dogs in Chatham County beginning on July 1st.
That if this ordinance is implemented and carried out on July 1st, 2017, it will do irreparable harm to your livelihood, your pet(s), and your breeding animals.
That you consider it a fundamental right to choose which registry you do business with, and that Chatham County officials are attempting to deny you that fundamental right.
Furthermore, if you are in an incorporated city or town that has its own animal control ordinance, such as Savanna, tell your commissioner and city officials that you are opposed to bringing the Chatham County ordinance to your jurisdiction, since it will unfairly punish CKC-registered dogs and dog owners in your township. And don’t fall for the line, “It’s only in the unincorporated areas,” because the authors of this ordinance have made it clear that they intend to move it to every jurisdiction of Chatham County.
Note: if you have an attorney already, take this ordinance and discuss it with him/her immediately, and then have him/her call us at 1-800-952-3376 so that we can coordinate our efforts against the implementation of this ordinance, which is prejudiced against CKC members and their dogs. He/she may also email us at marketing@ckcusa.com. To view or download the Chatham County Animal Ordinance in its entirety, CLICK HERE.
If your dog’s paws smell like corn chips, it doesn’t (always) mean he raided the pantry. Strangely enough, when bacteria collect between a dog’s paws, they may actually begin to give off an odor similar to the salty corn snacks. It’s basically dog B.O.
