The final Mac update....

[Glacier]

Didn't mean to scare anyone! Just wasn't comfortable posting this in dog general; I've had more than enough people tell me to put him down and it was requested that I move it from the prayer thread...so the doghouse fit best!

Phred, my insurance policy has no breed restrictions, just lists dog bites as one of the things it covers. My agent has never asked if I have dogs, I've never volunteered that information and I'm not going to now. If we have to get the special policy for Mac, it will be with a different agency and it's own policy. Hopefully, that means my regular company never finds out. I had a hard enough time getting coverage for the house in the event of a forest fire!

If things go even close to the current plan, we'll only have to deal with any of this for a couple years. Then we can move outside the city limits and not have to deal with animal control at all.

[Cinder & Smoke]

I've had more than enough people tell me to put him down ...

I sure hope those weren't Pet Talk Folks!
SHAME on whoever even hinted at the PTS route.

My agent has never asked if I have dogs ...

S/he must not *visit* to drop off the renewal paperwork, huh?
Be kinda hard not to notice a Dawg or two!

I had a hard enough time getting coverage for the house in the event of a forest fire!
...
Then we can move outside the city limits and not have to deal with Animal Control at all.

You live "pretty far" from the center of Downtown Whitehorse ...
Just what *BENEFITS* do you receive from being "CITY" residents?

Where does your Fire Protection come from - one of the two in-City Stations;
or does your primary response come from a Volunteer Station?

Does the City provide Ambulance Service?

Is there Police protection and routine patrols on your street?
Water, sewer, cable TV ... ???

And what about the maurading bands of MOOSE --- can you get help from the
Moose Police if you spot a Moose *munching* on your tulips in the front yard?

Do you get a *tax break* because you live "too far out" to enjoy all the Services
that are provided to the "downtown" residents?

Tell 'em - They'll *MISS* ya when you're GONE!

[caseysmom]

Tamara I know this wasn't the outcome you hoped for but it sounds livable and how dare anyone say that about Mac for gods sake he didn't even break skin.

Can he still sled? I was confused about that and that would provide him some excercize.

[Glacier]

Can he still sled? I was confused about that and that would provide him some excercize.

Yes, that's why they waived the muzzle requirement. If he's hooked into a team, he can run without a muzzle. He can't be a lead dog, but Mac never really liked leading anyway. If he's just out for a walk, he needs to be muzzled and leashed.

[caseysmom]

Yes, that's why they waived the muzzle requirement. If he's hooked into a team, he can run without a muzzle. He can't be a lead dog, but Mac never really liked leading anyway. If he's just out for a walk, he needs to be muzzled and leashed.

Well thats good he can get some excercize, I can't imagine a dog being confined to that size kennel, can you muzzle him and let him romp around the whole yard?

[Glacier]

Well thats good he can get some excercize, I can't imagine a dog being confined to that size kennel, can you muzzle him and let him romp around the whole yard?

He doesn't have to be muzzled if he's on my property. It's only if he's off my property that he has to be on a three foot leash and muzzled and only if he's on his own, not when he's in the team.

[K9soul]

I feel pretty shocked that anyone would actually express to you that you should have Mac put down. How sad. Thank you for explaining how it all works out though and I am very glad for you and for Mac that he can still sled.

Reminds me when I was 13 or so and got my collie, Cody. He played a bit rough and more than once I had teeth bruises here and there when we were playing (mutual running and playing). Not that it was good and now I would of course want to curb that but it was a far, far cry from him being vicious or dangerous.

I think I would be so very frustrated and drained in dealing with all you have in this situation. I'm so happy for you that Mac is safe.

[Glacier]

S/he must not *visit* to drop off the renewal paperwork, huh?
Be kinda hard not to notice a Dawg or two!

I think the actual company is based in Manitoba! Just the broker is local. We just get the papers in the mail every year to pay them more money!

You live "pretty far" from the center of Downtown Whitehorse ...
Just what *BENEFITS* do you receive from being "CITY" residents?

Where does your Fire Protection come from - one of the two in-City Stations;
or does your primary response come from a Volunteer Station?

Technically from the station in town. In reality, from a volunteer station. The city station is 25km from my house; the volunteer station is 7km. Stuart is a member of the volunteer department. They are supposed to wait for the city guys to request assistance before they respond to a fire within the city limits, but I'd call them first and let the two departments whine about it after they had put the fire out!

Does the City provide Ambulance Service?

Again, technically the city does, but the volunteer guys could get to my house much faster. The volunteer fire department is also a rescue/medical department. Having had a few situations that really needed an ambulance, I know I can drive to the hospital faster than an ambulance can get out to my house.

Is there Police protection and routine patrols on your street?
Water, sewer, cable TV ... ???

No, no, no and no....no municiple water service. I had to pay for water delivery before I had the well drilled. No assistance with the cost of drilling, which is available to some property owners outside of the city. The cops come out if called. They are pretty good about responding, but no routine patrols. We have a neighborhood watch program...guess who the rep is for our area. No sewer. I have a septic field. No garbage pick-up. We could get cable now I think, but we have a dish instead. They do plow the road occasionally in the winter and fill in holes in the summer.

And what about the maurading bands of MOOSE --- can you get help from the
Moose Police if you spot a Moose *munching* on your tulips in the front yard?

Yes, but not from the city. That comes from the Territorial department of the environment. I never call them cuz I'm always worried they'd just kill the critter. I would call if the wild animal was injured, trapped or needed assistance somehow, but not just because Elliot(that's the moose) and his buddies are hanging around.

Do you get a *tax break* because you live "too far out" to enjoy all the Services
that are provided to the "downtown" residents?

No, I actually pay higher taxes than alot of downtown residents. They base the taxes on your property value. My lot is bigger than a downtown lot so I end up paying more. Taxes are higher in some of the new subdivisions in town where the houses are fancy and sell for half a million!

Looking at that probably makes you wonder why we bought the place....Keep in mind that I didn't know a soul here and was here alone for the first six months while Stuart wrapped things up at our old home. When we moved up, we had three dogs. You are only allowed two in the non country residential subdivisions. Getting rid of Hoodoo was not an option, so we had to look at country res.

The AC by-law didn't apply to us at all until 2002. You could have as many dogs, cats, horse, goats, pigs ect as you wanted in our area. Those of us who already had critters, dog teams ect were grandfathered(if we pay for the permit annually) when they changed the by-law. I can't sell my house to a musher, I can't move my dogs within the city limits. Anyone who buys my house can have four dogs and four cats, six if all the neighbors agree in writing.

If I had known at the time that we would end up with this many dogs, we would have bought way out of town back then. At the time, three dogs and two cats seemed like plenty! The house we looked at way out in the boonies seemed awfully isolated and a long drive into work everyday. Now that house has tripled in value and property in dog team friendly areas is expensive and hard to come by!

[lizbud]

Didn't mean to scare anyone! Just wasn't comfortable posting this in dog general; I've had more than enough people tell me to put him down and it was requested that I move it from the prayer thread...so the doghouse fit best!

If things go even close to the current plan, we'll only have to deal with any of this for a couple years. Then we can move outside the city limits and not have to deal with animal control at all.

Really, people said that to you? They don't know you or
your circumstances, so consider the source.

Everything considered, I think it doesn't sound too terrible. It's good that
Mac won't have to be in a small,closed space & he can still go in harness.