New Series- The Nifty Fifty
By Jack Thomas

Welcome to the first in an ongoing series of articles revealing the intriguing and sometimes just bizarre stories surrounding the arena of background check related stories from across the country. Weekly, I will be sharing stories from one or two states. Please check back often to see if you’re state has made the list yet!

Today’s State- Washington-

And here’s your first article-

Police to perform Background checks to Own a Dog! In Sumner Washington, a proposal is under consideration to have owners of potentially dangerous dog breeds undergo a background check, with an appropriate fee to obtain a license. Councilman Matt Richardson, according to the News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington,  made the suggestion, noting that a procedure needed to be put into place to spot dangerous dogs coming into the community. They (the owners) must at least admit, under penalty of perjury, if they’ve ever been been convicted of a dangerous dog violation. The additional search would add $10.00 to the cost of the license. Sumner Police Chief John Galle is concerned that the additional monies would discourage people from registering their animals at all. There are compromises being discussed, such as the one from Councilwoman Cindi Hochstatter, which would generate the need for the background check only if there had been a previous formal complaint against the owner. Richardson stated the checks could also be triggered by breeds known to be more dangerous than others. He has asked Chief Galle to compose a list of those breeds and present them again to council. However,  Mayor Dave Enslow has cautioned them that adding breeds to the ordinance would only fill the council chambers with angry owners of certain breeds whose pets have not been known to cause any problems. Nearby towns Puyallup, Edgewood and Bonne Lake already have rules regarding the ownership of potentially dangerous pets.

Perhaps the owners will feel discriminated against, citing a bias against them for their association with certain breeds. There are examples of like ordinances in other cities across the country, but most are targeted at persons known or assumed to be breeders. Chicago, Omaha and Long Beach have extensive wording regarding these and their relationship to safeguarding the community. In their cases, the legislation followed attacks on people in the area.