Agenda - 12-10-2013 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 1 2 Kris Bergstrand has been a Veterinarian for 33 years. She said she has experience in 3 small animal practice, academia, pharmaceutical research and toxicology. She said she has 4 been on the ASAB in the past, and during that period of time she heard many dangerous dog 5 appeals. She said there was always a veterinarian on board, with ordinance in hand during the 6 process. 7 She said she was here to show support for this unified ordinance. She said there has 8 been a tremendous amount of work and cooperation between the County and the towns. She 9 found during the tethering ordinance-process, that residents on both sides criticized the board, 10 and made wrongful assumptions. 11 She gave the Commissioners a hand out regarding statistics about dog bites in rural 12 versus urban areas. 13 Ed Johnson said he is submitting public comment on behalf of Bob Epting, who was 14 unable to attend. He submitted the following written statement from Bob Epting: 15 16 FROM BOB EPTING: 17 I have just received the materials you are being provided for your agenda item pertaining to 18 revision of the animal control ordinances into a Unified Ordinance. 19 20 While the original idea of consolidating the several Town and County ordinances into a Unified 21 Ordinance was a good one, the revised drafts go far beyond the simple consolidation the 22 Board envisioned and directed. We appeared and complained about this gross enlargement 23 of authority, resulting in the elimination of citizens' rights under the existing laws, at your 24 meeting before the summer break. 25 26 Sadly,the draft "Unified"ordinance retains the features we complained about, and still 27 exceeds your charge of simplification and consolidation. 28 29 In particular, I note that the provision in the existing law permitting a person to keep a 30 watchdog, and protecting the animal and its owner from vicious animal designation and legal 31 liability, (if the animal bites a trespasser on the owner's property), has been deleted. Thus, 32 the intruder is to be protected, while the owner is directed to lock up his dog for the rest of 33 its life, all for doing what the owner expected to protect his family and property. 34 35 Those who propose the "Unified"ordinance say they have retained the "sentry dog" 36 designation, which requires the animal to be trained or conditioned (no definition, discretion 37 of the AS Director, I suppose), and the property to be marked "No Trespassing." They argue 38 this will make it easier to enforce the law. I have seen the way these squishy provisions, 39 leaving discretion in the hands of AS Officers and the AS Director,are simply avenues for 40 uneven treatment of citizens from one case to the next. 41 42 In a case I was in last summer; defending a property owner whose dogs were declared 43 vicious animals" because one of the two had bitten a trespasser who had crept up from the 44 distant rural road through adjacent woods to the very steps of my client's home, we found 45 that the AS Officer was not even aware of the watchdog provision in the existing ordinance, 46 had no idea how his being an intruder affected the case, and had no interest in his having 47 been arrested several times in Alamance County for criminal trespass, or how that affected 48 the matter. WE DO NOT NEED MORE DISCRETION IN THE AS OFFICERS OR THEIR 49 DIRECTOR. 50