I walked by the shuttered Rose City Park Elementary school today; that's a great place to run your dog. Very peaceful.

The bulldozers will be by for the condos very soon.

A house-mate works for the Humane Society. I'll have to ask her for the dirt on this one...

Jeezus, this city never stops with the BS. I'm shocked less and less each year by all the misuse of money and corruption. A major metropolitan area, a seaport with 2.2 million inhabitants, cannot even fund the freakin' dog catcher.

One good thing about the barking dog nuisance program was that it gave very angry and frustrated people an outlet so that some crazy neighbor doesn't resort to the paraquat hot dog solution. It's just basic livability. We don't care much and can't afford much in that regard any more. Go by streetcar.

People who are going to poison animals (to punish the owners) are in need of much greater help that the animal control hotline.

"Jeezus, this city never stops with the BS."

It's called Multnomah Animal Control. It's the county, not the city. You are barking up the wrong tree.

In the past I had 2 Irish setters and they were beautiful, beguiling dogs.I still like dogs but it's people that I really prefer even though they're harder to deal with than a good dog. They're also infinitely more worthwhile. I like most dogs but barking or being chased by one when I bike or jog is not fun. Dog barking is an intrusive sound, demanding attention. So now the County says that’s not important anymore. We have a tram, steet cars, bike lanes to nowhere but no animal contral. They’ve done little for years and now they’re making it official. Animal control is closed. Dogs rule. People don’t. Dog lover’s be happy. Your dog can run amok on your behalf with impunity.

Trespassing cats??? You could complain about that? That is all cats do.

We've lived without leash law enforcement for so long, this doesn't surprise me a bit. I think Portland must be unique in it's tolerance of rogue dog owners. I am sick to death of loose dogs and dog crap all over our parks, not to mention the dog owners who get self-righteous and indignant when confronted about their unlawful behavior.

Seems to me leash law enforcement could self fund, at least for the first little while.

Karin It's called Multnomah Animal Control. It's the county, not the city. You are barking up the wrong tree.
JK Not really, property tax pays for county services too. When the city gives away tax abatements to favored developers, the county suffers too.

See SavePortland.com

The total Urban Renewal taxes diverted to favored developer's projects is now in the range of $65 million each year. Plus exemptions over $20 million last time I looked.

Thanks
JK

That should give a boost to Smith & Wesson stock!

Mediation is a better solution that the hard-handed tactics MCAS historically has used. Animal Control is used by neighbors to carry out grudges, more than to solve nuisance problems, and the people who work at those places historically have been the lowest of the low officious bureaucrats; If this is played correctly, it will be a boon to livability. But it will first take a public that is interested in learning and willing to listen to those who really know what goes on at Animal Services. Don't succumb to the standard Portland black v. white analysis. It is very possible to control nuisance situations without coming down hard on animals and pet owners. Recall Jack Bogs cat warning system, for example. Can't we infact work out many of our own problems when given half a chance to talk to each other?

Travis:

That provision, while on its face supported by bird lovers, actually was promoted and pushed through by the National Animal Interest Alliance, an animal use group, whose members include vivisectionists and furriers, that has been in league with MCAS, officially or unofficially, since the early 1990s.

And regarding a recent article in the O that had the Audubon finding cats to be a cause of songbird population decline(when studies show overdevelopment and pollution to be the primary factors), I thought it was interesting that a reader wrote to the paper mentioning that starlings and crows "nuisance birds" eat songbird eggs from their nests. Can't we acknowledge cats' contribution in keeping down the crow and starling population. I think Audubon's tunnel vision in this matter is used to the advantage of NAIA, as is the public's naivete.

Cynthia:

Can't we acknowledge cats' contribution in keeping down the crow and starling population. I think Audubon's tunnel vision in this matter is used to the advantage of NAIA, as is the public's naivete.

Sorry, that's just plain nuts.

Starlings and crows are far too large and too aggressive; cats don't bother them. Nope, they go after your native chickadees, song sparrows, and towhees

I'd be happy to acknowledge their contribution to keeping down the population of starlings and crows - if they did so. They don't. Keep your cat indoors and out of my yard!

Max, I am an eyewitness of a cat catching a starling. And when we talking about blaming cats for overall decline of songbird population, the scientific evidence just isn't there; breeding ground destruction is a primary cause, cat predation being merely antedotal, something the Audubon crowd sees, like I have seen cats killing starlings. In the wild, cats are very effective killing machines, killing animals far larger than themselves. Calling people "nuts" instead of doing research isn't really cool.

BTW, do you know where I can buy some native songbirds to feed my indoor cats?

p.s.

Max, if you are interested in learning more about cats and predation, check out www.alleycat.org/pdf/cats.predation.pdf.

Here is the introduction to the article:

Understanding Cats and Predation

Many studies have shown that cats do not have a detrimental impact on wildlife on continents. However, many people still feel that cats are to blame for the depletion of songbirds and other animals. Two studies most often quoted to support placing blame on feral cats are the Stanley Temple study and the Churcher/Lawton study. Some individuals and groups use these studies in misguided efforts to discredit Alley Cat Allies’ and others work to humanely control feral cats. However, over sixty studies on feral cats have been written from different continents throughout the world—all showing three very important points:

Cats are opportunistic feeders, eating what is most easily available. Feral cats are scavengers, and many rely on garbage and handouts from people;

Cats are rodent specialists. Birds make up a small percentage of their diet when they rely solely on hunting for food
And, cats may prey on a population without destroying it. If this were not so, we would no longer have any mice around.
Even though some cats can become efficient hunters and do kill birds, many international biologists agree that only on small islands do cats pose a severe threat to the wildlife populations. They agree with biologist C.J. Mead that “any bird populations on the continents that could not withstand these levels of predation from cats and other predators would have disappeared long ago.”

And finally, while many concentrate their efforts on blaming cats, the real culprit, homo sapiens, goes free; continuing the destruction of habitat, hunting, killing, and using pesticides that endanger entire populations of wildlife, including millions of birds. The following is a collection of opinions from experts who have studied feral cat predation and who do not blame cats for detrimentally impacting wildlife.

People have coexisted with cats for centuries. It is possible to start from where we are and to get to a place where we have better control over human activities vis a vis the environment.

But scapegoating cats is strictly from the Middle Ages. And passing anti cat "trespass" laws without public input (in fact CONTRARY to public opinion as expressed in the 2000 MCAS blue ribbon task force recommendations to the county commissioners), is a violation of due process and also reminiscent of that era.

oops-anectotal; please forgive other errors I haven't caught yet in advance.

Sweet, Cynthia - you witnessed a cat catch starlings? You're unique, then. There's the exception that proves the rule. In my yard, I've witnessed several murders by neighbors' cats - and each and every one has been a native songbird.

I assume that you've also witnessed cats killing crows. You should write that up.

Calling people "nuts" instead of doing research isn't really cool.

I'm not trying to be really cool, and I didn't call people anything. Re-read. I said, and I quote: That's just plain nuts. Most people recognize the difference between calling an individual a nutcase and referring to the idiological construct (in this case, that native birds aren't hurt by letting kitties roam free) as just plain nuts.

While I make no claim to expertise, it is nonetheless a fact that I've worked with a wide range of animals for well over thirty years, and I bring both personal experience and a fairly extensive library of studies into play when I discuss issues related to the behavioral biology of animals, habitat considerations, and other aspects related to animal management.

If you want to buy into the idea that humans are responsible for every ill thing on the planet, that's your prerogative - and no amount of factual information would dissuade you from believing otherwise.

In the meatime, please keep your kitties indoors.

Okay, you guys have completely gotten away from the original discussion about further cutbacks making MAC useless for all intents and purposes. MAC was almost useless with more money anyway. You had to go through so many steps to finally whack the dog owner and make them shape up it was a joke. Mediation? Ha. 1) Pdx stopped funding Pdx mediation a few years ago and my neighbors wouldn't talk to them anyway. I will tell you what helped - threatening to turn said neighbors into the IRS with copies of checks I had given them for remodeling my bathrm (when we were still speaking and their dogs were semi-behaving). Ha, that shut them up. If I live next door to 3 un-neutered pitbulls who jump a 6 foot fence to attack unsuspecting pedestrians again, yes, something will happen to them. This is what happens when animal services are not properly funded and when people are not responsible pet owners. Just shut up about it already, please. Or write a ltr to MC making them fund it fully again. Maybe MAC should become a joint effort between Pdx and MC - after all, doesn't PDX have that big budget surplus? They can use those mediation funds...