“Ridiculous dog laws,” “crazy dog laws,” “laws you haven’t heard before.” Titles can pull readers in but you have to have an article matching your title. Somewhere on the internet rumours have started to circulate about a few “ridiculous dog laws” but where did they come from and are they real?
How do we know if they are real?
I started by looking into the article’s sources and I found that all the sources were connected in a circle and never showing where these laws originated. I took it upon myself to contact a couple of towns about these laws and eventually the Government of Little Rock, Arkansas through email confirmed that the “Ridiculous Law” about no barking after 6 pm is a false law. They also gave me the correct law about dogs and barking. You can see it below:
“In the City of Little Rock dogs cannot be a nuisance when barking. The actual ordinance is:
Sec. 6-18. -
Barking, howling: It shall be unlawful for any person to keep on his premises, or under his control, any dog which by loud and frequent barking and howling shall disturb the reasonable peace and quiet of any person.”
This may lead some to believe that the other dog laws are also untrue.
Here are the group of laws that I researched originally
In Galesburg, Illinois, no person may keep a smelly dog
In International Falls, Minnesota, cats are not permitted to chase dogs up telephone poles
In Little Rock, Arkansas, dogs are not allowed to bark after 6 PM
In Oklahoma, people who make “ugly faces” at dogs may be subject to fines and/or jail
Fights between cats and dogs are not allowed in Barber, North Carolina
A police officer in Spalding, Ohio, may bite a dog to quiet him, as long as it is in the line-of-duty
In Hartford, Connecticut, you aren’t allowed to educate dogs.
This is a reliable source for laws: Municode Library
Where have these laws come from?
Here below is merely a couple of articles containing the “Weird Laws”. All these articles contain the law about no barking after 6 pm in Little Rock, Arkansas. This could mean that the other laws in these articles are also incorrect But how can we really tell when a source is credible?
How Can We Tell If a Source Is Trustworthy?
You need a credible and reliable source to pull facts from? How can we tell if they are trustworthy? ThoughtCo. has a helpful article on how to tell if a source reliable. Here are a couple of points they made:
Check publish date (Facts may be outdated)
Does the site look well designed
Beware of anonymous authors (If they are not willing to put their name on it)
Check their source links (Where did they find their info/ where did it originate)
Make sure there are no Biases in news pieces
Finding credible information is incredibly important because if you start spreading untrue info then lies start circulating and some people might end up presenting these lies as facts. These lies could end up interfering with people and there every day lives. To sum up, it is vital that you check your sources and make sure that your source is reliable so that no rumors get started.
