Pet owners need to know laws

Joelle Rupert has only been on the job for a couple of weeks and already she has a problem with the way people in the parish are raising their pets.

Rupert recently volunteered to help the Police Jury by acting as the head of the parish’s Animal Control. She is a certified animal cruelty investigator.

“I would love to begin getting the state laws and ordinances out dealing with animals,” Rupert said. “We need to let people know they need to be responsible for their pets. We can start cutting down on population with our pit bulls that people are not taking care of.”

She said the biggest problem she has encountered is pet owners do not know what the laws are.

One example is the leash law. Every pet has to be on a leash when it is walked on the street or away from the owner’s yard.

She said it is against the law to let your dog or cat loose while the two of you walk down the road.

Another problem she has encountered is that many pet owners do not provide proper food, shelter and veterinarian care for their animals.

They also over-breed their animals, she said.

“We had a lady come in the other day with eight puppies because the mother dog got killed,” Rupert said. “They are not responsible. The pet owner does not take care of them and they become strays.”

Pit bull owners are also a different breed of pet owners. She said many do not know the proper care of raising pit bulls or what the Louisiana Cruelty to Animal Laws are.

Here is what is considered a violation of the state’s animal cruelty laws.

• Dog fighting, training and possession of dogs for fighting.

• For amusement or gain, cause any dog to fight with another dog.

• Own a dog for dogfighting.

• Tying, attaching or fastening any live animal to a machine or power-propelled device for the purpose of causing the animal to be pursued by a dog, together with the possession of a dog.

Pet owners who violate any of these laws can be fined no less than $1,000 and up to $25,000, or face imprisonment for up to 10 years.