Stewie and Midge contemplate the meaning of life, love, and the origin of all happiness. Photo submitted.

Black labs, German Shepherds, Shih Tzus, Beagles, mutts, mixes and purebreds — dogs come in many shapes, sizes and personalities. Fairly dependent on the breed, some are more vocal than others, whether it be in fear, joy, protection or detection of the sly neighborhood squirrel. As much as owners try and shush their canines, sometimes they just have a lot to say.

To some, the barking is simply a part of the background noise of outside life. Though to others, it is too vexing to ignore or disregard. This can often lead to confrontation with the owners, even so much as calling the police, which, unless the dog is being neglected, is a little extreme. However, a portion of the residents of Wadena, Minnesota don’t think so.

In June of this year, a city ordinance was established so that between the hours of 9:00 AM and 4:00PM, a mere seven hours, was the only allotted time for dogs to bark. That means if a hound felt the need to defend its property from a vicious plastic bag during the remaining seventeen hours of a day, owners could be cited as much as $50 — a hefty fine.

How is an owner supposed to avoid a fine? Restricting time outside is an option. But that means dogs can’t go outside to sniff, to exercise or to go “potty” for almost three-fourths of the day.  To deny such natural behaviors of dogs seems pretty negligible, if not cruel, does it not? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one thinking so.

The Wadena County Humane Society is suing the city on the grounds of the ordinance being unreasonable. To keep an animal who depends in outdoors for deification, stimulation, exercise and general enjoyment of fresh air could very easily impact a dog’s well-being — gaining weight, destroying in the interior of the home because of built-up energy, possibly even becoming irritable, not to mention having accidents in the house. All of this for fear of being slapped with a $50 fine for  natural canine behavior.

Many pet owners consider their pets as their children – they love them, care for them and pay heavy veterinary bills to keep their furry, four legged kids happy and healthy.

Now, how about those fairly hairless, two legged kids running around? Living in my second residence (independent of campus) in Grand Forks, I’ve felt more annoyed by human children’s screams of bloody murder -which freaks me out, are you okay? Are you hurt? No? Just screaming? Okay then- than any howl or yip from a dog. Why not include these pups in the ordinance as well? I live across from an elementary school, maybe I wouldn’t mind not having these little humans screaming as they pour into their owners, I mean, parents’ vehicles. Perhaps this shows my favor for Canis lupus familiaris over the homo sapien, perhaps I just see how ridiculous it is to restrict access to outdoors and suppression of a natural mannerism of a living, sentient being.

Wadena’s Humane Society is awaiting a court date, as the court has again rescheduled the hearing. Many residents find the ordinance humiliating as there really aren’t any other places with such a strict and ridiculous ordinance. Dogs, just as any other pet, are so incredibly reliant on our care; they deserve to be able to utilize the outside world just as we do.

Steph Gartner is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].