Knob Noster Residents If Your Dog Gets Loose The City Can Kill It

It's a shocking headline, but it's true. Knob Noster's Ordinance 205.060 permits the Knob Noster Police Department to use force, including ending a dog's life, to capture a dog running at large that cannot be caught safely and impounded by officers. Yet the real issue might be the lack of context in which the City of Knob Noster's social media person posted the ordinance without any context on Facebook.

To be fair, the posting includes all of the City's regulations that dog owners residing in the town need to follow. Including the fact that dog owners are required to keep their dog on a leash or behind a fence at all times. That the person in control of the dog leash has to be able to control the dog. The definition of what the City considers a dangerous dog, and what is required of owners who own dangerous dogs.

Of course, the section of the ordinance dealing with The Police Department's authority to kill a loose dog, just sort of stands out in the post because it's right where your eyes go when looking at the gobbled gook of pasted law from the City's Municipal Code. And that's drawn some concern and questions from residents posting comments on the Knob Noster Facebook page.

Chris Dennis asks in the comments, "So are we going from not enforcing any dog-related ordinance to just shoot them on sight?"  While Becky Christianson isn't sure she fully understands the message the City of Knob Noster is trying to convey with the post. And Thomas Orr suggests it sounds like a soft ban on pit bulls and other aggressive dogs.

That's the real problem with Knob Noster's posting of the City Dog Ordinance on Facebook. What's the context? Why is it being shared on Facebook? Is there, as Becky asks in her comment, "a pack of dogs loose?" Is the City having problems with people letting their dogs off-leash?  Are police officers having to waste time chasing strays around town? Is it a friendly reminder to dog owners about the responsibilities of dog ownership?

While the dog regulations and ordinance don't really need a context. The law is pretty well spelled out. Why it was posted. What the City is actually trying to convey to its residents who own dogs might be kind of nice. Because just sitting out there, with no context, the realization that your family pet could be shot and killed by cops is almost as shocking as the headline of this article.