REGISTRATION PRACTICALITIES

To close this chapter, we look briefly at some of the practicalities of achieving full registration. We touch on regulation and enforcement, community education, and efficient and effective administration.

Regulation and enforcement

As we have said earlier, different states and countries operate under different statutory constraints. Different councils have different needs, and a given councilís needs may change from time to time. Registration laws, like all others, are neither more nor less than a formal definition of community expectations together with a framework for regulation to ensure that it happens. Itís only by trial and error that the best approach to shaping dog registration laws will emerge.

In Chapter 5 we said that for local laws to be effective they needed five qualities. They needed to be:

ï definitive

The requirements should be perfectly clear.

ï meaningful

The people who own dogs need to know exactly what is required of them by way of registration.

ï reasonable

The main reason for registration is to link the dog to its legal owner ie. it is a formal statement of ownership and obligation. This is important and reasonable.

ï validatable

If done properly, the registration database has all the records, complete and up-to-date. The dogs have to carry the prescribed ID device that can be checked and confirmed.

ï enforceable

Some thoughts on how the five qualities of effective legislation apply to registration laws follow.

For further insights and examples, see:

ï Registration practicalities: more about regulation and enforcement

Community education

We have already touched on community education above. Given appropriate information, most owners will understand the need for registration and willingly comply. PMOs should be well versed in the reasons and in appropriate ways to convey them to owners of unregistered dogs. For example, they can carry short, but carefully worded messages to encourage registration. They might wish to rehearse their registration spiel which could include prompts to draw verbal commitments from owners.

Efficient and effective administration

Once an MPM unit decides to aim for full registration, then the process adopted to achieve this goal can be relatively simple. (See: Flowchart of a simple registration system) You will note the emphasis on efficient data collection and analysis. Weíll discuss this further in later chapters.

The registration system needs to suit its local community

We have looked at a number of new ways of thinking about dog registration. We finished this chapter with some practical suggestions. But we are not saying that this is the only way for a registration system to be organised. In fact, it would be far better if each local authority considered their own situation and came up with their own registration system.

Ownership of ideas is a important issue in MPM. We have been careful in writing this book to promote ideas rather than prescriptions. This is partly because different places need different options. But it is also because handing out off-the-shelf remedies stifles original thinking and initiative.

The best people in MPM are not automatons. The best people in MPM like to adopt a concept and then mould it to suit their own unique needs. One of the most compelling benefits of this kind of creativity is the motivational effect that it has on those who do the creating. Even the best ideas in MPM have critics, but the best people in MPM are personally committed so they press on. There is something grand about their determination which protects them from their critics. Without them out there, having a go, MPM would be doomed. (See: Theodore Roosevelt on the doer of deeds)

Each PMO in his or her own way, if given the chance, can be a creative PMO. Each MPM unit can, by a process of trial and error, gradually work up a process that works best for their situation. Or, to put it in management lingo, each MPM unit can be a learning organisation where innovation is encouraged and all team members are empowered to take an active, strategic approach to MPM.

And there is no better place to start than registration.