Over the past several years, pet owners throughout Lawrence County have been required to purchase tags for their pets. Those tags serve multiple purposes for both the county and pet owners.

While this law can benefit Lawrence County, plans need emphasized and enforced. This is because most of those owners who do not follow the law and purchase tags for their dogs should be held accountable and the laws enforced more stringently.

For those who continue to skirt the law, fines will be the least of their worries, as jail time could be enforced.

While we agree increasing fines for each infraction of the dog tag law is appropriate and should be enforced, adding more people to an already overcrowded jail for an act that essentially equates to a parking ticket is a bit extreme.

The dog tags are important, however, and in the event a canine would go missing, it could easily be identified and returned. In many cases, however, the dogs end up at the animal shelter or in custody of animal control because no identifying information is found.

The county benefits monetarily through the cost of the tags, which helps fund the animal shelter and can free up other resources for use elsewhere.

Losing a pet can be devastating for families, but having the pet’s information on a registered tag can turn something tragic into a triumph when the canine is reunited with its owners.