Commissioners scrap dog ordinance, begin work on more suitable policy

A May 12 public hearing for the proposed county dog ordinance attracted about 30 residents, many who were prepared to comment on details of a draft ordinance which had been circulated in the county and talked about for months. At a meeting of the public health and safety committee Tuesday, it was decided the proposed ordinance wouldn?t suit Presque Isle County. ?We?re throwing that one out the window,? said District 3 commissioner Mike Darga. District 1 commissioner Bob Schell said the committee met with treasurer Pat Cornett and sheriff Terry Flewelling, who were instructed by the board to come up with initial guidelines, and made the decision to start over, but include comments from citizens at the public hearing.

NORM FASSE of Belknap Township, who spoke at the hearing, wanted to know when a new ordinance was going to be published ?so honest dog owners can read it before you guys decide what you are going to pass.? ?That?s what you are here for tonight,? said Schell, ?to tell us what you want in an ordinance.? ?You have an ordinance; enforce what you already have,? Fasse countered.

?We don?t have an ordinance,? Schell responded. ?We go by state statute. We don?t have a county dog ordinance. We are going to put in a county dog ordinance and we are going to have enforcement provisions in that.? Chairman Allan Bruder said the attack of an Allis Township resident walking on a rural road last year ?got this whole ball rolling.? Bruder said the aim of a new ordinance would be to control dogs that are a nuisance. He also said the ordinance, in whatever form accepted, is not an attempt to hinder hunters with several dogs. ?All we want to do is to stop the dogs that are causing nuisances,? Bruder said.

FASSE IS con

cerned that an increase in the dog license fee, and any proposed increase, would penalize responsible dog owners. ?I agree with what you are doing, but I don?t see that anybody is going to buy a license unless you get out there and go door-to-door,? said Fasse. Cornett said even though it?s a state law, there are only 500 licensed dogs in the county. ?We?re not talking about sky-high licenses,? said Schell. ?What we are talking about is having a license fee and if you don?t buy the license fee and your dog is picked up, you are going to pay a penalty if you didn?t buy your license, and there is going to be a cost.?

Sue Leow of Rogers City said a new ordinance should include cats. ?We have had cat problems in our yard,? said Leow. ?I don?t know why we?re not talking about cats and getting them licensed and vaccinated. They do carry more diseases than dogs do. Just because cats are harder to control doesn?t mean we shouldn?t try to control them.? Bruder said the board will continue working on an ordinance, which may include provisions for cats. ?We will work on this some more and try to come up with something that will help us all,? said Bruder. When a new proposed ordinance becomes available, it will be published in the paper, copies will be available at the county courthouse, and while another public hearing isn?t required, one probably will be scheduled by the board.

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