To the Editor:

In response to “Hunting Dogs Can Legally Roam Properties” which appeared in the Feb. 18-24 issue of North Country This Week: it’s pretty well written and less confusing than many, but I wish to point out that this whole thing seems to be the fault of DEC since they claim to overpower local rule.

It doesn’t matter what other locales pass for laws, like the leash-laws, DEC can claim them as not relevant and not enforceable. I call this completely unacceptable and totally unethical on the part of DEC.

Any dog that comes onto my land, which is fenced to protect my pets, I have the right to riddle with pellets or BBs.

I think I will now stop leashing my dogs when I walk them around the confines of my acres of land, since DEC says that law is not enforceable, and really enjoy themselves!

Whenever I go anywhere with my dogs, I always have a complement of tools (mace and other very painful experiences for any other loose dog that might attack mine), and I’m not afraid to lose them.

Does any part of this post make sense? No, it does not!

And I respectfully submit that DEC itself is overstepping its right on both sides of the fence here and is usurping local laws in the process.

This to me goes to being actually criminal on the part of DEC and I’ll bet it also has a large bearing on the current attempt to make pets “cattle”, just like cows and other farm produce. It’s madness and a purely political grab on DEC’s part!

I thought the Agricultural Department of the government had domain over this sort of thing, not DEC, and they have an entire section of law devoted to pets and other service and comfort animals. Not DEC!

Tom Rivet

Heuvelton