To the editor:

I have been a Westport resident for almost 15 years.  I own dogs.  I usually do what is asked of me by my town.  I am also very much in favor of an animal site registry in Westport.  Here is my latest thought: 

If the farmers in Westport feel that they should not have any regulations for the keeping of farm animals within the town, then why should I, as a taxpayer, have to register my dogs?  Why should I be asked each year to pay a fee for each dog and provide the town with medical paperwork, with my address and phone numbers etc.? 

Why does the town consider my dogs more of a threat to public health than a backyard farmer’s coop full of chickens who could be carrying Avian Flu, or that small ‘plot’ farmer whose goats or sheep feces could contaminate ground water and wells or wash into the watershed because there is no proper manure management plan? 

Why should I have to tell the town if my dogs are spayed/neutered if farmers don’t have to disclose a grain storage plan when improperly stored grain can attract rats, raccoons and a number of other pests that can and do spread disease?  Remember, the EPA shut down parts of the Medeiros tenant farm due to toxic waste. 

Dogs are considered a health risk to the town because, if unvaccinated, they can contract and possibly spread rabies.  Therefore, every year dog owners in Westport must fill out paperwork on each dog and pay a fee for providing this information.  Why is it wrong of us to request that the town do the same with farm animals?  Each year Westport dog owners pay $10 to license spayed/neutered dogs or $15 fee for intact dogs.  We must provide a valid rabies certificate for each dog.  There are also kennel fees:  a 4-dog kennel $50, a 10-dog kennel $75 and for 10 or more dogs $100.  There are late fees and fines associated with not complying. If it is common practice for the town to impose fees for the keeping of companion animals, why not a small fee for registering the location of farm animals? 

What if all dog owners in Westport acted like the farmers and just refused to cooperate.  What if we refused to pay the fee and register our dogs?  If Westport wants my money and my information, then Westport should demand the same from people who have goats and chickens and sheep.  The proposed registry does ­not require people to register each animal, as we dog owners are required to do.  The registry simply wants to know where the animals are and who owns them. 

The current draft of the registry requests less information than what is requested for a dog license. How much revenue would the town lose if we all stopped licensing our dogs?  Sound crazy?  Any crazier than not registering the location of hundreds of farm animals?  Think about it.    

Jennifer Mello

Westport