During city council’s Public Comments on August 13, Laurel Owen spoke about a “derelict, unoccupied house with dogs in distress in cages on the porch.” She said she and neighbors had found no legal recourse except through a barking ordinance and a space requirement in the Dog Ordinance, which was not enforced, so she protested in the street.
Owen supported alderman Melissa Greene’s attempt to reshape the animal ordinance to create safe canine citizens. She claimed traumatized dogs are more likely to be unpredictable, and the city needs more for these predicaments than a noise ordinance and a space requirement, which do not address the root of the problem. She urged council to act so that it is not left up to neighbors to care for neglected animals.
Greene asked City Attorney Tim Weaver if leaving dogs in an unoccupied house in a residential zone was a permitted use. Weaver replied Greene might be overextending the use of zoning laws, but admitted it would depend on other considerations.
Greene said she went to the location on Main St. Owen referred to, and “the stench and barking was unbelievable from 75 feet away.”
Alderman Kristi Kendrick asked if the ordeal would be covered by the nuisance ordinance because there were complaints by neighbors.
Greene suggested Ord. 2150, the Dog Control Ordinance, be amended to include language about nuisances, unsafe conditions and smells.
Alderman Mickey Schneider said she had met with “all the local experts,” who had inspected. Schneider claimed the property had air-conditioning and fans operating and the dogs had food and water. “Officials on all levels said there was no odor problem,” she maintained, and contended the requirement in Ord. 2150 for 100 square feet per dog six months or older should not apply in this case because the dogs were small. She also insisted the dogs were walked at least once a day.
Then Schneider transitioned to pot-bellied pigs, which she said should be allowed if the owner gets a veterinarian to sign a certificate stating the animal was indeed a pot-bellied pig.
She finished by declaring, “Just because it’s not what you would do doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I dare anyone to come on my acre and tell me what to do with my dog’s poop.”
Greene countered that the nearby neighbors who have complained were not lying. They even went so far as to provide water for the animals in question.
Schneider nevertheless moved to amend the dog ordinance according to suggestions made by the police chief and animal control officer. Mayor Butch Berry asked her to write her understanding of their recommendations for council to review at the next meeting.
Vote to approve her motion was 5-1, Kendrick voting No.