Not that I agree with their rationale, but think about it this way. If your unlicensed dog gets out and is picked up by local municipal or county animal services, you will have to pay to have it licensed before they release it back to you. If you refuse to pay and animal services keeps the dog, they will eventually either adopt it out or put it down. That's no different than what the police do.

It's an interesting thought experiment -- unlicensed dogs are contraband.

The petition goes on to compare Smith’s unlicensed possession of the dogs to that of “heroin...moonshine whiskey...and sawed-off shotguns.” The City’s petition puts it bluntly: “Under Michigan law, possession of an unlicensed dog is contraband per se...”

I, for one, believe most cops need better training when it comes to interacting with animals in general and dogs in particular. I was a delivery driver for over a decade. I dealt with plenty of dogs. Some were aggressive, most were not. Knowing how to deal with them can mean the difference between deescalating a situation and potentially killing a family pet.

But we all know how good most cops are at deescalation, don't we?