An outrage

Recent events in Austria have really gotten my hackles up. A new law in Vienna requires the city's dog caretakers to purchase liability insurance for their canines born after Jan. 1. According to the Associated Press, policies must have minimum coverage of $864,000. The Austrians say the policies are meant to pay for legal, medical or other costs arising from any damage or injury caused by the dogs. Those caught without insurance could be forced to pay fines of more than $4,000.

It appears that prejudice is still alive and well in the country that produced Adolf Hitler. (And not in that humorous, Mel Brooksian way.) This policy could only be intended to limit the dog population by deterring humans from adopting canines. Honestly now, what is a bigger public menace: a pug or a European teenager? I didn't see any bulldogs or Jack Russell terriers torching cars in the Paris suburbs a few months ago. And yet there is no push to require liability insurance for the parents of European teenagers. This sinister law must be overturned. The vast majority of dogs are loving, peaceful creatures. For now.

In an unrelated story, a pack of angry Chihuahuas was accused of attacking a California police officer who was escorting a teenager home after a traffic stop. Police say the officer suffered minor injuries, primarily bites to his ankles.