The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-08-27
= Method Which Is Successfully oper.
ated in One City, Would Work
Out Very Nicely In
keokuk.
NO DOG CATCHER USED
Energetic City OFFICIALS and polio. o.
Malnstee Collected a Large
Sum In Taxes Each
Year.

heokuk is full Of dogs and while
very few owners pay a license on
tneir animals, there are hundreds Of
untaxed CANNES in the city. A dog
Z catcher is on duty but he is not as
effective as the plan adopted by the
city OF Manistee. Mich, which seems
to have solved the dog problem. The
Following from the Daily News of that
place, shows a method which could
well be adopted in Keokuk:
Everybody knows the common meth.
cd Of coping with the dog question,
and its utter failure. The dog catch
er Is a stencil in the nostrils of all
decent people. and the dog pound is
q disgrace to civilization. But prac-
tically all cities stop at this point and
: confess themselves unable to solve the
problem.
Five years ago new policy was
adopted in Manistee. 1t was decided
70 stop Cog catching, and began catch
Ing dog owners. First it was neces.
sary to have a list of all owners of
dogs. This was obtained by police
officers.
It was found that owners for e3s
male dogs and 3s female dogs should
pay the tax Of one to three do'ars
provided by ordinance. They were
given sufficient time to pay. and then
began a series of prosecutions. The
names OF delinquents were drawn
from hat, certain number being
taken each week. Without the slight
est personal consideration, these per-
sons were hauled into justice court on
warrant charging violation of
ordinance. If they settled at once
they were let off by paying the dog
tax and the costs. Most of them took
this course.
Progress Shown.
The next year the census was much
more exact, the number of dogs was
less, and fewer prosecutions were
needed because owners had learned
what they would be obliged TO do.
Every year since then there has
been progress in the direction desired.
1t is likely that the earlier censuses
were not SO complete as the later
gones. so that the real reduction in
numbers Is not correctly shown. 1t
sis not an easy thing to take dog cen
sus, and it took two or three years
r. fthe officers to become expert at
s It. In time they learned from whom
trouble could be expected and the
public learned also to inform the Of
ficers.
A great many amusing things takes
place every year in this connection.
mere are always few shy owners
who think they can figure out way
to escape the tax and still keep poor
old Sport or Rover or Fido. A fav-
orite way is to send the pup to the
country for few weeks But the
officers generally find out about the
ruse, and sometimes begin a prosecu-
ton months after.
Today there is practically no dog
IN the city of Manistee who has not
Z responsible owner who thinks
enough of him to pay the annual tax.
Inls means humane treatment for the
dogs that we have 1t also means
that people acquiring dog are much
more careful Tito its breeding. They
no longer fsE that they can take any
cur on trial and cast him adrift if
ne does not turn out well.
me tax on cur is Just as high
as on a registered dog, and the re-
suit Is constant grading up. Good
dogs we'll bred are worth paying a tax
on or better behaved than mongrels
Whom nobody cares to acknowledge
as their own. They are safer in ev.
cry way and they give far greater