-----Original Message----- http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16983345&BRD=2185&PAG=4 61&dept_id=415898&rfi=6 Pet limits coming to Pittston BY JOE SYLVESTER STAFF WRITER 07/29/2006 Email to a friendPrinter-friendly PITTSTON - City officials don't want Pittston going to the dogs - or any other household pets. So they plan to collar residents who breed a personal menagerie. City Council is considering an ordinance to limit pet owners to three pets per household. The ordinance, which council may adopt on Aug. 16, also would make pet owners responsible for pets that defecate in neighbors' yards, bark uncontrollably or are otherwise a nuisance. It has made some pet owners sit up and take notice, but officials promise they aren't about to start knocking on doors asking to count pets, said Councilman Joseph McLean. "It's something we're going to have to work through and clarify," said Mr. McLean, who has received a few calls questioning the pet limit. The city will base enforcement on complaints, he said. "I got a call from a woman with four cats and she asked, 'What cat do I get rid of?'" Mr. McLean said. "If Mrs. Smith has four cats in her house, we're not going to go tell her, 'You have to get rid of Fluffy.' The average homeowner has two, three, four dogs. As long as they're well-kept, we're not going to bother them." Mayor Joseph Keating also didn't think the city would strictly enforce the ordinance, but the city had to do something because of dogs running loose, especially from a particular property. It's those kinds of complaints about animals causing problems that will bring the city code enforcement officer to the pet owner's door, Mr. McLean said. Pittston resident Eugene Winter, who owns a small dog and a cockatiel, doesn't think the government should limit how many pets people can have, as long as the animals are not causing problems. "I don't see why they should limit how many pets you can have," said Mr. Winter, 51. "If a person could afford to take care of the animals, I feel they should." But council members still have to chew on the particulars. The proposed ordinance is subject to amendment and would not pertain to current pet owners with more than three pets - unless they cause a problem, said city solicitor Samuel A. Falcone Jr., who wrote the ordinance. "This is just a rough draft," Mr. Falcone said. "I'm expecting there will be some discussion between me and individual council members between now and the next council meeting." More communities have been enacting such ordinances because more people have too many dogs and are not taking responsibility for them, said Pittston veterinarian Inayat H. Kathio, D.V.M. "If you live in a small house with too many animals, this is a health issue," Dr. Kathio said. Nearly a dozen other Northeastern Pennsylvania communities, including Scranton and Dunmore, already limit the number of pets allowed in homes. Archbald has the strictest law, allowing just one pet per 10,000 square feet, said the borough's Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer E. Scotty Lemoncelli. The borough doesn't seek out those with more pets than the limit allows, but uses the backing of the law when investigating complaints, Mr. Lemoncelli said. "People may have three or four dogs and we never had a complaint about it," he said. "If we get a complaint, we're there. We just had one last summer; they got over 60 cats out of the house. You walk toward the house and you could smell it." It's up to the magisterial district judge to decide on a fine for violators, but that could run up to $300, Mr. Lemoncelli said. The state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement already enforces the state laws against dogs running loose, dogs over three months old that are unlicensed, unvaccinated dogs and kennel licenses, which are required for properties that house 26 or more dogs in a given calendar year, said Mary Bender, the bureau's director. It's up to local municipalities to set regulations on barking dogs and to limit pet numbers, Mrs. Bender said. Pittston officials decided to enact a pet control ordinance, in part, because of a property owner on Lambert Street whose Rottweiler got loose on several occasions and ran through the neighborhood, sparking complaints, City Clerk Ronald Mortimer said. He added, though, there have been problems elsewhere in the city with dogs leaving messes and barking. But Wayne Smith of 56 Lambert St., said the city is on a witch hunt. He owns four Rottweilers and his son, Jeremy Demko, 21, who lives in the house behind his, owns two Rottweilers and two bull mastiffs. They breed the dogs as a hobby, Mr. Smith, 40, said. He admitted "Sam" has gotten loose several times, but Mr. Smith has since put up a 6-foot-high wooden fence to keep the dog in. The other dogs are in kennels in the rear of the property. "Now that they found their witch, they're going to make us their sacrificial lamb," Mr. Smith said. The pet limit, if enacted, might not affect Mr. Smith and his son, because they already have the dogs, but he said he would fight the city if he is cited. "I'll be before a judge every day, because I'm not getting rid of them," he vowed. "If they want to cite me every day, they'll have to cite me every day." Pet limit laws do have the support of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, however. "We do support limit laws," said Teresa Lynn Chagrin, animal care and control specialist in PETA's Norfolk, Va., headquarters. "But it's important that these type of ordinances have a grandfather clause. Some jurisdictions have found it useful to allow for more animals if you purchase a special permit." The laws are pretty widespread, Ms. Chagrin said. "Communities are passing them because of the growing number of hoarding situations," she added. "Animals not cared for are really costly, monetarily and in animal suffering." Contact the writer: jsylvester@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ©The Times-Tribune 2006 . __,_._,__ Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. C.S.Lewis www.rihadin.com My Ebay site_ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. 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