Look at these two sections of the ordinance I have posted.
1) There is NOTHING in their ordinance that speaks of dangerous and aggressive breeds, so how can they designate yours as such? Also, there is NO mention of a limit or maximum of dogs that can be housed at a residence.
---------------------------------------------------------
Dog portion of ordinance: 3.301. DEFINITIONS.
When employed in this article, the following words shall have the following specific
meanings:
DOG shall mean all members of the canine family four (4) months of age or older.
OWNER shall mean any person who has, or claims to have, a right of property in a
dog.
KEEPER shall mean any person who knowingly harbors a dog, or has it in his care or
acts as its custodian for five (5) or more consecutive days.
3.302. TAGS. INOCULATION. LICENSE REQUIRED.
a. All dogs shall be licensed and a permit and dog tag issued therefor. Permits and
tags shall be issued by the City Clerk. Both shall be valid only for the calendar year in which
issued. Both shall be stamped with the year of issuance.
b. Persons applying for a permit shall exhibit proof of a current rabies inoculation.
An annual fee, as established from time to time by Council, shall be charged for the license.
Such fee shall be as set forth in the "Schedule of Rates and Fees" as shown on Exhibit 1 of
this code.
c. The name of the owner, or person making application for a permit, his address
and the type of dog shall remain on file n the office of the City Clerk, and such information
shall be permanently affixed to the dog's collar.
3.303. PROHIBITED ACTS.
LANDRUM CITY CODE
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for an owner or keeper to:
1. own or keep a dog anywhere within the corporate limits without having in his
possession a current permit; and/or
2. own or keep a dog without having a dog tag containing all required information
permanently affixed to the dog's collar.
3.304. CERTAIN DOGS DECLARED A NUISANCE.
a. The howling or barking of any dog to such an extent as to interfere materially with
or affect the health, comfort, peace or quiet of the people is hereby declared a nuisance and
is prohibited. It shall also be a nuisance to permit a dog to damage or destroy flowers,
ornamental shrubs or property of others.
b. No person who harbors, keeps in possession or has custody or control or any dog
which constitutes a nuisance as defined in this section, shall fail or refuse to take action to
abate the nuisance when requested in writing to do so by the Chief of Police.
---------------------------------------
2) Terms and sentences in ordinances can be very vague and if you read (in THEIR mindset) the next part of the ordinance you can see how they will use the terms against you and term your dog houses as "junk". They are not "newly" constructed and doni't look "pretty". (in their eyes)
---------------------------------------
Junk portion of ordinance: JUNK shall mean old iron, glass, paper or other waste that may be used in some form again; second hand, OR WORN or discarded articles, clutter, SOMETHING of POOR quality or of
little meaning, worth or significance, including abandoned automobile parts or abandoned
vehicles.
JUNKYARD shall mean a yard or area used to store sometimes resalable junk.
------------------------------------------------------
As I said in my first post (which I hope appears before this one):
Contact an attorney
Get copies of the entire ordinance
Move the dogs, for now, so that they are not confiscated
Contact ADOA to see if we have a rep in your area who could assist you
Nina of Muzzlechusetts
Executive Committe, American Dog Owners Assoc
http://adoa.org/Click to expand...