Ottawa County’s April Fools Prank Was Brilliant

While many traditions come and go each year, the one that continues to thrive despite all odds is April Fools' Day. A day that has no real fanfare, no incentives like gifts, food, or fireworks to get people to participate each year. Nope, people keep this holiday alive out of love for the game and the elation that comes with pulling off a perfect prank.

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In the age of AI, online misinformation, and seemingly crazy headlines every day, I generally question everything I see online anyway. But I have to hand it to the Ottawa County Official Facebook page: it pulled an April Fools' prank yesterday that was so random it actually felt believable. 

Ottawa County's "Squirrel License"

I'm woefully uninformed about city ordinances or homeownership rules. Like, I just learned what that strip of grass between the sidewalk and road is called, and that totally blew my mind.

READ MORE: Is It Legal To Own A Bear As A Pet In Michigan?

So when I saw Ottawa County's post yesterday, stating that "if you have a squirrel living on your property, it's your responsibility to register it." When I read this, my initial thought was that it was like how the DNR wants you to send in ticks you find, or notify them of bear dens.

Squirrels are so prevalent everywhere that I thought maybe it was for population control. So yeah, I clicked the link. Yeah, I quickly regretted it when my eyes flicked to the bottom right of my screen and saw what day it was. Am I writing an entire article about this to try to downplay falling for an April Fools post? Sadly, yes again.

I did at least learn that you're apparently supposed to register your dog once they're 4 months old, which is a law I wasn't aware of. If you want to learn more about Michigan laws you didn't know about, check out the ones below.