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Frances Jones is a lifetime citizen of Orange County. She said that she has never <br /> seen the Chair disrespect citizens as he has tonight. She applauded the hunters for standing <br /> up for their rights. The hunters have a right to do what they are doing. She said that dogs in <br /> Chapel Hill are treated better than Fairview Community citizens because they have parks with <br /> trails. Fairview has been begging for a park for the last 30 years. She said that they are going <br /> to do what they have to do to get that park. She said that most of the money in the County <br /> goes to Chapel Hill. This is why people feel divided. The Fairview citizens feel that the County <br /> thinks more of the dogs in Chapel Hill than it does the citizens. She said that the County <br /> Commissioners need to do what they were voted in to do. <br /> Bobby Kirk said that he has several good ideas, and the big one is education. He said <br /> that there are only six ordinances nationwide that dictate kennel size. He said that he trains <br /> over 60 dogs a year, and he travels the nation in field trials. He has a dog coming in tomorrow <br /> that is 75 pounds and is a biter. The first thing he will do with this dog is put him on a tether. <br /> He said that his dogs are happy on tethers. He agrees that everything has to be done right. <br /> He said that every dog is different and tethering is a great thing for a dog. He urged the <br /> County Commissioners to vote against this. He said that it would solve no problems and there <br /> is no way that it could be enforced. <br /> Loren Hart said that he is in support of the dog ordinance. He said that dogs and other <br /> animals are individual beings, can feel pleasure, pain, fear, and loneliness. For these reasons, <br /> he believes that tethering dogs for prolonged periods is a form of abuse that should be <br /> stopped. It is a different kind of abuse than kicking a dog, but it is a form of neglect. He thinks <br /> that the current ordinance should be amended to mandate a higher level of care owed to the <br /> dogs by their human guardians. He said that he is a resident of Orange County and he works <br /> at UNC. He made reference to his uncle who died recently, and said that, in addition to being <br /> a veteran of the U. S. Navy, he was also an avid duck hunter, a charter member of the <br /> Migratory Waterfowl Hunters and Ducks Unlimited. He remembers fondly fishing with his <br /> uncle, but he never hunted with him. He said that he used to eat fish, deer, and other animals, <br /> but he does not anymore because he thinks that it is wrong to do so. He still respects his <br /> uncle and everyone in this room, but he disagrees with animal exploitation. For the past five <br /> years he has chosen a vegetarian diet because of the interests of animals. He thinks that this <br /> mindset would be helpful in looking at this ordinance. He made reference to the comments <br /> about tyranny and said that we all have rights and we all want to be free, but there is not <br /> unlimited freedom. The freedom ends somewhere. He said that animals have interests and it <br /> is not just about humans. <br /> Kevin Young is a dog owner and breeder and he asked the Board of County <br /> Commissioners to use common sense. He asked the County Commissioners to look at the <br /> safety issue. He asked where the supervision was of the children who were killed by dogs. He <br /> made reference to the breeding that happens and said that the leash laws need to be <br /> enforced. Regarding cleanliness, when it rains with a dog in a pen, it causes a multitude of <br /> problems. He said that this is not seen with a dog on a tether. He suggested using a body <br /> harness to tether a dog so that there would not be embedding of collars. If the dogs were <br /> taken care of, then there would not be a problem of embedded collars. He said that education <br /> is very important. <br /> Diane Genteel said that she spoke before. She said that the issues of aggression, <br /> socialization, pet overpopulation, etc. will not be remedied by this law and it is a question of <br /> education. Tethering is not the culprit; it's the inappropriate use of tethering. She said that a <br /> dog on a ten-foot chain has more liberty than it would have in a ten-foot pen. <br /> Michael Kirk made reference to one of the committee members who is the North <br /> Carolina Director of In Defense of Animals, and said that he is afraid of what will be next with <br />