Working Farm Dogs

If your dog barks or runs at large in order to herd or protect livestock or poultry, or to protect crops, it can be registered as a working farm dog at the time of annual registration with the town clerk for an additional fee of $5.

History

Rural Vermont heard from some farmers that they were having trouble because local ordinances do not allow their dogs to bark (especially at night) - a necessary activity if these dogs are protecting livestock from predators. We worked to find a way to allow working farm dogs to do their work. In the 2009 legislative session, Rural Vermont helped to pass a bill allowing farm dogs to be registered and exempted from city ordinances when working.

Materials

View the bill, S. 89, as enacted into law (sec. 7 on pg. 9 is where the dog section begins)

Download the Working Farm Dog campaign factsheet we used to publicize the bill (.pdf)

Testimony in the House Ag Cmte, 02/03/09:
(All files are .mp3 format. Sizes vary b/t 4 and 18 Mb.)
Steven Larosa, Montpelier Resident
Arthure Meade, Sheep and Goat Farmer
Stewart Skrill, Sheep Farmer
Alan LePage, Barre town Vegetable Farmer
Maggie Rebmann, Montpelier Resident
Amy Shollenberger, Rural Vermont, and committee discussion