Post by RealPitBull on Jan 8, 2009 15:44:13 GMT -5
Interesting.............
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Animal Services gets aggressive on illicit breeding, sales
By Chris Quay • cquay@courier- journal.com • January 4, 2009
www.courier- journal.com/ apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20090104043 0/PETS/901040484
Read Comments(120)
Unlicensed pet breeders, take note -- your next customer could be an undercover animal-control officer.
Determined to crack down on unlicensed breeding and selling, Metro Animal Services officers are poring over newspaper and online pet ads, then calling unlicensed breeders to set up sales.
The more aggressive enforcement tactics, put in place after the city passed a stricter animal ordinance more than a year ago, have resulted in Animal Services officers busting about a dozen illegal pet sellers -- confiscating 123 animals and spaying or neutering those that haven't been altered.
Those tactics are being criticized by local dog club members, dog owners and lawyers, who argue that what Animal Services is doing is improper, deceitful and wrong.
They contend that the animal-control officers posing as buyers are not immediately identifying themselves, entering homes without warrants and altering the animals they seize, without any recourse for the owners.
"At least you should have a day in court; they (Metro Animal Services) don't even let you do that," said Donna Herzig, chairwoman of the Louisville Kennel Club.
Trying to solve problem
Animal Services officials say they're simply trying to crack down on unscrupulous breeders and puppy mills, including those who deal in aggressive breeds such as pit bulls.
"I'm sure people are getting their feelings hurt," said Capt. Wayne Zelinsky, assistant director for Metro Animal Services. "But every time we've gone to someone's house, the officers are invited into the house. The main thing we're concerned with is not violating anyone's Fourth Amendment rights."
He said one search warrant has been used in the past six months.
The stricter animal-control ordinance that the Louisville Metro Council passed last May requires that all breeders and sellers in Jefferson County purchase a $50.50 license for unaltered dogs.
A breeding license costs $150 for each set of five dogs. Licenses are valid for one year.
The ordinance -- which was passed after several fatal dog attacks -- also gives Metro Animal Services more latitude to crack down on illegal sellers, including the power to cite owners and confiscate their dogs after investigations.
Confiscated dogs are held at the shelter until their owners retrieve them and pay any boarding or medical fees, such as spaying and neutering.
If the owners instead decide to sign over the animals, they are put up for adoption or transferred to a rescue group, said Jackie Gulbe, assistant director of community relations for Metro Animal Services.
Owners fighting back
In some cases, dogs that are unadoptable because of health, age or temperament may have to be euthanized, she said, but that's happened with only three of the 123 animals confiscated. But to some dog owners and breeders, the city's tactics are further proof that Louisville's tougher animal ordinance is fatally flawed. In March 2007, the kennel club and 10 other plaintiffs, including the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, Kentucky Houndsmen Association, Greater Louisville Training Club and various boarding kennels and cat clubs, filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court contesting the constitutionality of the ordinance.
The case has since been moved to federal court.
"The whole ordinance is a problem," said attorney Jon Fleischaker, who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and who thinks the city should curb its tactics while the case is pending. "A whole bunch of this stuff is in front of the court."
The agency's tactics
According to Animal Services officials, here's how they bust unlicensed breeders.
Officers look through ads for unlicensed breeders and dealers, then, posing as potential buyers, they call to set up appointments to go to owners' homes to see the animals. In most cases, puppies are the target.
When plainclothes officers posing as buyers arrive at sellers' homes, they wait to be invited inside to see the puppies. The officers tell the owners that they might want to purchase one of the puppies, then leave.
Minutes later, different animal-control officers, accompanied by uniformed Louisville Metro Police officers, arrive and enter with the owners' permission to confiscate the unlicensed animals.
It happened last November to Robert DuVall.
Animal control and police officers knocked on the door of his Valley Station home and confiscated two adult pit bulls and seven puppies.
DuVall acknowledges he allowed the officers into his home, but said he was never told initially why they were there. He said a police officer threatened to arrest him after he asked an animal-control officer why his dogs were being confiscated.
He said officers never had a search warrant when they took his dogs, which he contends is a violation of his rights. He said he was charged about $750 to get the seven dogs back, which included having his two adult dogs spayed and neutered without his permission.
DuVall said he consulted with local attorney and long-time veterinarian Pat King, a critic of the city's new ordinance, but he has not hired a lawyer to look into the case further.
Debate continues
King said what Metro Animal Services is doing, altering the dogs it seizes, is inhumane and dangerous to the animals.
He contends that the puppies suffer because spaying interferes with the milk supply, infections can set in and puppies get sick.
"But they (animal services) really don't care about that," King said. "It's all about revenue."
But Metro Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche says his officers have the right to confiscate dogs immediately if they find that someone is breeding animals without a license.
Gulbe said the agency is not targeting specific dogs for confiscation, but there is more concern over pit bulls. While officers have confiscated dachshunds and Jack Russell terriers, one in every four investigations involves pit bulls, she said.
Gulbe and Meloche both understand owners' concerns about having their dogs confiscated, but they stressed the importance of enforcing the law to control the animal population and help responsible breeders who do pay their license fees.
"I think if you are a reputable breeder … you would want these people that are fiddling around under the radar to not be allowed to continue to do that," Gulbe said.
With the amount of publicity the recent dog ordinance has attracted, Meloche and Gulbe find it difficult to understand how owners are not aware of the law.
"If you're going to enter into any venture when it comes to breeding or selling dogs and do it right, you should do your homework," Gulbe said.
"Find out what the laws are," she added. "Breeding and selling animals is more than just finding two dogs and having babies."
Readers can reach reporter Chris Quay at (502) 582-4241.._,___
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Animal Services gets aggressive on illicit breeding, sales
By Chris Quay • cquay@courier- journal.com • January 4, 2009
www.courier- journal.com/ apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20090104043 0/PETS/901040484
Read Comments(120)
Unlicensed pet breeders, take note -- your next customer could be an undercover animal-control officer.
Determined to crack down on unlicensed breeding and selling, Metro Animal Services officers are poring over newspaper and online pet ads, then calling unlicensed breeders to set up sales.
The more aggressive enforcement tactics, put in place after the city passed a stricter animal ordinance more than a year ago, have resulted in Animal Services officers busting about a dozen illegal pet sellers -- confiscating 123 animals and spaying or neutering those that haven't been altered.
Those tactics are being criticized by local dog club members, dog owners and lawyers, who argue that what Animal Services is doing is improper, deceitful and wrong.
They contend that the animal-control officers posing as buyers are not immediately identifying themselves, entering homes without warrants and altering the animals they seize, without any recourse for the owners.
"At least you should have a day in court; they (Metro Animal Services) don't even let you do that," said Donna Herzig, chairwoman of the Louisville Kennel Club.
Trying to solve problem
Animal Services officials say they're simply trying to crack down on unscrupulous breeders and puppy mills, including those who deal in aggressive breeds such as pit bulls.
"I'm sure people are getting their feelings hurt," said Capt. Wayne Zelinsky, assistant director for Metro Animal Services. "But every time we've gone to someone's house, the officers are invited into the house. The main thing we're concerned with is not violating anyone's Fourth Amendment rights."
He said one search warrant has been used in the past six months.
The stricter animal-control ordinance that the Louisville Metro Council passed last May requires that all breeders and sellers in Jefferson County purchase a $50.50 license for unaltered dogs.
A breeding license costs $150 for each set of five dogs. Licenses are valid for one year.
The ordinance -- which was passed after several fatal dog attacks -- also gives Metro Animal Services more latitude to crack down on illegal sellers, including the power to cite owners and confiscate their dogs after investigations.
Confiscated dogs are held at the shelter until their owners retrieve them and pay any boarding or medical fees, such as spaying and neutering.
If the owners instead decide to sign over the animals, they are put up for adoption or transferred to a rescue group, said Jackie Gulbe, assistant director of community relations for Metro Animal Services.
Owners fighting back
In some cases, dogs that are unadoptable because of health, age or temperament may have to be euthanized, she said, but that's happened with only three of the 123 animals confiscated. But to some dog owners and breeders, the city's tactics are further proof that Louisville's tougher animal ordinance is fatally flawed. In March 2007, the kennel club and 10 other plaintiffs, including the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, Kentucky Houndsmen Association, Greater Louisville Training Club and various boarding kennels and cat clubs, filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court contesting the constitutionality of the ordinance.
The case has since been moved to federal court.
"The whole ordinance is a problem," said attorney Jon Fleischaker, who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and who thinks the city should curb its tactics while the case is pending. "A whole bunch of this stuff is in front of the court."
The agency's tactics
According to Animal Services officials, here's how they bust unlicensed breeders.
Officers look through ads for unlicensed breeders and dealers, then, posing as potential buyers, they call to set up appointments to go to owners' homes to see the animals. In most cases, puppies are the target.
When plainclothes officers posing as buyers arrive at sellers' homes, they wait to be invited inside to see the puppies. The officers tell the owners that they might want to purchase one of the puppies, then leave.
Minutes later, different animal-control officers, accompanied by uniformed Louisville Metro Police officers, arrive and enter with the owners' permission to confiscate the unlicensed animals.
It happened last November to Robert DuVall.
Animal control and police officers knocked on the door of his Valley Station home and confiscated two adult pit bulls and seven puppies.
DuVall acknowledges he allowed the officers into his home, but said he was never told initially why they were there. He said a police officer threatened to arrest him after he asked an animal-control officer why his dogs were being confiscated.
He said officers never had a search warrant when they took his dogs, which he contends is a violation of his rights. He said he was charged about $750 to get the seven dogs back, which included having his two adult dogs spayed and neutered without his permission.
DuVall said he consulted with local attorney and long-time veterinarian Pat King, a critic of the city's new ordinance, but he has not hired a lawyer to look into the case further.
Debate continues
King said what Metro Animal Services is doing, altering the dogs it seizes, is inhumane and dangerous to the animals.
He contends that the puppies suffer because spaying interferes with the milk supply, infections can set in and puppies get sick.
"But they (animal services) really don't care about that," King said. "It's all about revenue."
But Metro Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche says his officers have the right to confiscate dogs immediately if they find that someone is breeding animals without a license.
Gulbe said the agency is not targeting specific dogs for confiscation, but there is more concern over pit bulls. While officers have confiscated dachshunds and Jack Russell terriers, one in every four investigations involves pit bulls, she said.
Gulbe and Meloche both understand owners' concerns about having their dogs confiscated, but they stressed the importance of enforcing the law to control the animal population and help responsible breeders who do pay their license fees.
"I think if you are a reputable breeder … you would want these people that are fiddling around under the radar to not be allowed to continue to do that," Gulbe said.
With the amount of publicity the recent dog ordinance has attracted, Meloche and Gulbe find it difficult to understand how owners are not aware of the law.
"If you're going to enter into any venture when it comes to breeding or selling dogs and do it right, you should do your homework," Gulbe said.
"Find out what the laws are," she added. "Breeding and selling animals is more than just finding two dogs and having babies."
Readers can reach reporter Chris Quay at (502) 582-4241.._,___