Wednesday, April 19, 2006

VIENNA, DRIVING LICENSE FOR DOGS

Dogs and the Viennese ever amaze me. Vienna now has a "Hundefuhrerschein"--for a little over $50 a dog owner can take a 2 hour test (multiple choice and "practical-on-the-street" sections) and get a license. The licensee will not have to pay the annual dog tax, but since most Viennese don't seem to be paying it, I am not sure what will be accomplished.

One multiple choice question was: "When your dog wags its tail, does it mean it is happy, excited, or bored?"

I also discovered that there are at least 150,000 dogs in this city of 1.7 million (however, the real figure is not known since not all dogs are registered). Also it is estimated that there is 5-10 tons of dog excrement produced daily (I am sure this is a low estimate after spending almost 4 months walking around Vienna).

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