flanerie.org

Man told to buy a dog license for barking doorbell

A Dutch man has been ordered to buy a dog license because of his barking doorbell.

Gerrit Bruintjes has a computer controlled doorbell at the family home in Oldenzaal, reports Nu.nl.

It can play 15 different 'chimes' but he has it set to bark like a dog in honour of the family's pet German shepherd which died a few years ago.

A tax inspector recently called at the home when they were out and, after ringing the bell, left a demand for them to buy a dog license.

Mr Bruintjes said: "Last year we had big trouble in convincing the tax inspector, we have no dog in the house. And this year we had to go through the same thing again.

"My wife arrived a minute later and had big trouble convincing the tax inspector we had no dog at all."

But Mr Bruintjes said he won't choose another melody.

"Certainly not," he said. "This sound is to honour our deceased dog. I just hope its rings a bell with that tax inspector when he comes next year."

[from ananova]
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There used to be dog licences in the UK but they got scrapped when they calculated that the cost of collection was about double the amount raised. There also used to be marriage licences.

I'm not sure whether a wife was more or less expensive than a dog. Neither involved any kind of test like a drivers licence does, so it was just a way of taxing the afflicted, in the case of a wife, or the lucky, in the case of a dog.