40+ Pit Bulls too many, say officials

A 20-acre piece of property on 48th Avenue in Claybanks Township is home to more than 40 chained-up pit bull terrier dogs.
The situation has township officials and some residents concerned. .
Claybanks Township Supervisor Richard Smith says the dogs pose a threat to safety and public health, and that property owner Joseph Schulze, Jr. is not complying with township laws and has been uncooperative the last three years.

Smith says that sparked the township to establish an animal control ordinance last year and take Schulze Jr. to court.

"We've been working with this for at least three years, and we've had zero cooperation," Smith said. "He's been belligerent and resistant and confronts everybody and anybody who comes near his property. It's not been a good situation."

In April, Schulze Jr. agreed to a circuit court settlement to reduce his dog number to six.

Schulze Jr. then filed for a township special use permit in June so he could build a kennel, but after going through township zoning channels and township board, the request was denied.

Schulze Jr. filed for a motion June 29 to amend parts of the settlement that made references to his special use permit request, and 27th Circuit Court Judge Terrence Thomas has adjourned the case with no further date set yet.

Township clerk Mary Freye said Schulze Jr.'s property is in agriculture zoning, and the animal control ordinance clearly states no more than six dogs are allowed unless there is a kennel.

"He's (Joseph Schulze Jr.) certainly non compliant," said Freye. "There's no fence around the dogs, and we feel that 52 dogs or something is too many."

Oceana County Animal Control Officer Kris Brower says she's had run-ins with Schulze Jr. in the last few years because the pit bulls were not licensed dogs in Oceana County.

Brower says the dogs are now licensed, but until Schulze Jr. gets a special use permit from the township and puts up a 6-foot or higher fence around the dogs, a kennel license will not be granted.

"We were involved mostly because he didn't license all the dogs. He finally has purchased the licenses," Brower said. "At this point we're done with it. We've had a lot of complaints on barking, but I refer them to the township. The county can't issue a kennel license until a proper fence is put on the property and he receives the OK from the township. He could build one giant fence around the property if he wanted."

Smith said he's concerned about the pit bulls because he thinks they have a reputation of being aggressive and that somebody could get hurt if one were to get loose.

Several Claybanks residents have written letters to township officials and many have made formal complaints at township meetings.

Susan Monehen, who owns 10 acres near Schulze Jr.'s, wrote in a July 27, 2004 letter, "Prior to the arrival of the dogs, I had spent many hours enjoying our property, taking walks and planning our future home. I no longer go to the property and I definitely do not take my four younger grandchildren to the property."

A July 29, 2004 letter signed by Tom and Joyce Osterhart, includes: "The Schulze's dogs have been a nuisance since they have been there. Their dogs are excessively noisy and Pit Bulls are a breed considered extremely dangerous by most people and communities."

Brower says a pit bull's temperament depends how well the dog was raised and trained.

"Some pit bulls are friendly, some are aggressive," Brower said. "If a pit bull is properly bred it can be very friendly and social, but if it's not properly bred they can have an aggressive tendency and can become a dangerous animal. It's very important to keep a pit bull very socialized."

Oceana's animal control has not received any complaints that Schulze Jr.'s dogs have harmed anything or anyone.

"We have not had any reports of the dogs running at large. He's keeping them contained properly, and he's keeping them in fair physical condition," Brower said. "But they're noisy, and people are concerned."

In the last few years, says Freye, the number of pit bulls on Schulze Jr.'s property has fluctuated, and that's why township officials believe the dogs are being bred.

"When I first got on the board two years ago he had 21 dogs or something and neighbors came and complained to the board that the dogs bark and they're a nuisance," Freye said. "I think he's had to 60 something dogs at one time. He won't tell us what he does with the dogs. He tells us he just likes them as pets."

Smith says whenever the township has approached Schulze Jr. about the dogs, it has "never been given a straight answer."

"I'm very concerned about this. The first time we were aware of what's going on over there, there were 59 dogs, now they're 40 something. We don't know where the dogs went because they won't tell us. They say it's not relevant where the dogs went," Smith said. "We think it's a health and safety issue, and not to mention a noise issue."

"Unless he's feeding and watering the dogs, they really are unattended. I bet his house is a quarter-mile from the dogs," Smith said.
In Claybanks Township zoning board minutes, dated June 9, 2004, Schulze Jr.'s attorney, David Bossenbroek, explained to the board that there would be no commercial activity, that the dogs were not being bred, sold, or used for fighting. He said they were not dangerous simply because they are pit bulls, because dogs are dangerous when they are ill-treated, which he maintains is not the case.
Claybanks' dog ordinance was established Aug. 18, 2003, and Schulze Jr. can't fall under a grandfather clause because the ordinance falls under nuisance and public safety.