NJ wants another job to pay license fees

My wife worked her way through college in part by grooming dogs. She attended classes and had to know what she was doing. She became excellent at her job and never seriously injured or killed an animal. What she didn't have to do was pay money to the state of New Jersey for them to tell her she knew what she was doing.

Now New Jersey wants their cut.

After a string of dog deaths at the hands of Garden State groomers Sen. Kip Bateman has legislation that will require a state exam and paying for a pet grooming license to do the job. "Pets are members of our families, they're loved ones, and we want to make certain that when we drop them off to get groomed that they're in the best of hands," he says.

Okay, then why don't you have a dog walker's license?

Look, if someone is going to intentionally hurt a dog they will do it with or without a license. And if the idea is mistakes are being made and the politicians of New Jersey know better how to groom a dog than the grooming companies training their employees I highly doubt that. Through my wife I've known a lot of people who are or were pet groomers, and the training is serious. And they won't let just anybody do it. Businesses don't need the bad reputation.

With provisions in the bill that say the licensed pet groomer must be at least 18 years old and be "of good moral character" then I guess they have it all figured out. The legislation also would mandate all grooming businesses submit a pet incident file listing injuries, escapes, severe injuries and deaths. Again, some bureaucrat sitting in Trenton will be able to shuffle papers and know best how to groom a dog is the thought process here.

Actually, I don't believe it has anything to do with keeping pets safe. That's a good emotional tug to get a law passed. It's why they started naming laws after victims. In this case, "Bijou's Law." I think the real end game is money. Another job added to the already long list of jobs for which you must pay money to the state and be licensed is appealing to most politicians. Don't believe it's gotten out of hand? Check out this link to a government site of all the jobs in New Jersey requiring licensing. We are one of the worst states in the nation for this. Of course we are. We're New Jersey.

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