Couple looking for lost dog gets threatened with a $750,000 fine

Posting flyers of missing and lost pets is one of the first steps that any pet parents would take in the event their pet goes missing. A couple in Washington, D.C. was threatened with a $750,000 fine for posting flyers of their lost dog. Roger and Annmarie Horowitz posted flyers of Ollie, their lost dog, around the area when they received a call from a D.C. police officer telling them that they could face a fine of $750,000 if they didn&rsquo-t take down all of Ollie&rsquo-s posters. The Horowitz&rsquo-s managed to put up thousands of posters with the help of volunteers. But they didn&rsquo-t have a choice but to comply or else they will be obliged to pay the hefty fine.

In an interview with NBC Washington, Roger Horowitz said, &ldquo-He told me that regardless if we put up the fliers, or if other people put them up, we had made the original flier that had my phone number, and that we could get fined up to 750,000.&rdquo- Just last month the couple adopted Ollie, a rescue dog, in Georgia. Ollie was abused by its previous owner and was shot by a shotgun. Roger noted that the pup &lsquo-still has about 23 pellets of buckshot his back.&rsquo- Ollie&rsquo-s horrific past is likely what caused him to be lost and at large. Roger told NBC that they were walking with the pup when suddenly &ldquo-a car just backfired, and he suddenly just bolted and managed to get away with the leash.”

Immediately after Ollie disappeared the Horowitz&rsquo-s filed a missing dog report and the cops encouraged them to put up flyers of their pup. So it&rsquo-s kind of confusing and hard for them to know what to do and what not to do. As for the hefty fine, it is not known how the police officer came up with it. According to DC Municipal Regulations Chapter 24 – Public Space and Safety, &ldquo-108.1 No person shall affix a sign, advertisement, or poster to any public lamppost or appurtenances of a lamppost, except as provided in accordance with this section. 108.10 No more than three (3) versions or copies of each sign, advertisement, or poster shall be affixed on one (1) side of a street within one (1) block.&rdquo- In addition, the D.C. Municipal Regulations Title 24, Chapter 100.6 states that &ldquo-Any person violating any provision of this title for which a specific penalty is not provided shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300).”

Roger and Annemarie have been taking down all of Ollie&rsquo-s posters. The couple turned to social media for help in finding their missing pooch. They made a Facebook page dedicated to finding Ollie. According to Ollie&rsquo-s Facebook page, the pup has been seen around the area but he is too quick to hide whenever people try to approach him. For more information about Ollie and to find out how you can help, simply click on the link https://facebook.com/FindOllieDC.

We are so sad that the Horowitz&rsquo-s had to take down all of Ollie&rsquo-s posters. We hope that they will be able to get their dog back home soon.