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Man Jailed for Not Licensing Cat in N.D.

Nov 5, 6:03 AM (ET)

By The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A North Dakota man has served an unusually steep sentence for having an unlicensed cat: two days in jail.

William T. Dennis, 38, was charged with failing to license his feline, which normally brings a fine. But a warrant was issued for his arrest when he didn't show up for a court appearance on the charge.

Dennis spent two days in jail before appearing in court again.

"He basically just received credit for time served," said Bismarck Municipal Judge Charles Isakson.

Failure to license an animal carries a fine up to $1,000 and a possible 30 day jail sentence in Bismarck.

"I never thought I'd sentence someone to two days in jail for this," Isakson said. "Since no situations like this are on record, I had no history to go on for sentencing"

What a waste of time and tax payers money. Should'nt have common sense prevailed here?

well, i'd rather spend two days in jail then pay 1000$ anytime...

Upto $1000.

Go to Jail..............................NO! THANKS!

Here in NJ you can lose your driver's license for not licensing your cat or dog. And any time you do not show up for court there is an arrest warrent issued for you.

Crazy crazy crazy.

City ordinance . . failing to license a pet does lead to a fine. Failing to pay a fine, warrants a court appearance - fail to appear at court, warrants an arrest.

I agree.

Just out of curiousity, how many people really license their cats? Most I've met don't.

Here in the UK you don't have to licence cats, just certain breeds of dog that are classed as "dangerous" by the powers that be (although I do believe that it's not the breed, it's how the animal is brought up that makes it dangerous but that's just my opinion)

How do they know you've licenced your cat? By tag on the collar or microchip? For safety reasons I don't like putting a collar on my cats (although my eldest removes collars within 5 mins of putting one on him)

It's the law, there are far more worse wastes of taxpayer money.

^Yet some who are cruel to animals dont even have to spend a single minute in jail.

Jailed for two days for not licencing a CAT? Fine is ok but JAILED? They're crazy, these municipal judges.