…The state is losing about $150,000 a year through the failure of the towns and cities to enforce dog-licensing laws already on the books. The state’s failure is in not making the towns do their jobs.

If the Internal Revenue Service can withhold tax refunds to enforce payment of educational loans from the government, why can’t the state withhold any assistance money the towns are due from the state until the communities enforce dog laws? With estimates of unlicensed dogs running from 20 to 25 percent in urban areas and more than double that in rural areas, a state showing about 100,000 licensed dogs is losing a sizable amount of money…. Jean Wheeler East Machias