[Sarah Armstrong]

**NOTE: This is a story of what happened to a friend of mine. I have asked for permission, and she said that I could share this with you all. This is not something that happened to me.**

On March 12, 2009, I was at work when my boyfriend calls me to let me know that animal control had been at the house and that they were coming back with a warrant by around 2 that evening. He had said they came out because of the barking and that our dogs did not have their dog licenses for the county, which they did. I got in my car and rushed home from work. I got home around 1:30 and they were inside of my home, enough cars and crates in the driveway to take every dog off our property (my room mate and I have around 40 dogs).



When I walk inside, they are snapping pictures of my dogs in their crates and scaring the ones that I have rescued (caused a lot of issues with my old dog who had potty and trust issues for 3 weeks after this). I read the warrant and it had said that they were coming inside for animal cruelty. Of course there was none and they even stated this before leaving and yet still took pictures of all of the dogs inside of the home. One of the animal control officers told my boyfriend and I that we were out of compliance with not having the tags on my dogs. They wrote me a 350 fine and my room mate 1800. He then proceeded to say that if my boyfriend had just let them in the house with out having to get a warrant, none of this would have happened. The warrant also stated that they could look anywhere that a dog could be placed; they were looking inside of our cabinets, drawers, fridge, freezer. Of course, this was illegal search and seizure.



Next was one of the worst parts. A zoning officer came inside and said that the county I live in has a DOG LIMIT!!!! 5 dogs per property. I have lived here for a year and my friends who live up the road have lived here pretty much their whole lives and had never heard of this. He informed us that we only had one week to remove all but 5 of the dogs.

We did try to fight this and we have gotten a huge extension. They also dropped the fines considering we had all of the necessary paperwork. Our neighbors had complained of the dogs and had also said that they were fighting our dogs. They had no proof of anything so of course everything was dropped but moving the dogs.

I had always believed that if you did nothing wrong you would never get into any issues with the dogs, but I was wrong. I just wanted people to know this story and to check their laws and zoning laws. It can happen to anyone. -PatchworkPits

[kjsdiuwe]

Wow, sorry to hear this CHJ... keep us updated on things.

[Anaedilla]

40 dogs? WOW! I would say that I hope they do something about all these false reports, it must be costing tax payers a lot of money to investigate these bogus complaints. Im sorry about your friend.

[rojettafoxx]

Man that really sucks! Our town and country law states that there is no limit as long as all dogs are tagged and have necessary shots however a breeder with 6 or more dogs must have a kennel license.

[Sarah Armstrong]

So far, the County has been working with them. Most of the dogs belong to her friend that lives with them. So, she has been getting some of her friends to take the dogs in, until the lady can find her own place (obviously out of that county).

At first, the County was all "Get them gone in a week," but now they had a talk, and since they are really trying to move the dogs. The County is being a bit better about it.

The crazy thing is the Zoning people told them that not many people know about the law, and that it isn't really enforced, and that AC didn't even know about it till that day. So, it seems they are the only ones that are actually being forced to follow this particular law, as they have a neighbor down the road with about 20 hounds. They think that some people might be grandfathered in though.

They also found out it was their neighbor behind them complaining and believe he was trying to talk others into complaining as well, since, a couple down near the beginning of their road complained.

The other thing was the first time AC came. They told her that she needed to register her dogs with the county. She went down and registered every single dog, and no one there told her that there was a limit. I guess when they were taking her money, they didn't care.

They also plan on selling their house at some point and moving to a new County.

[rojettafoxx]

CHJ, Have they asked if the county allows more dogs under a kennel license? I know in some places, like the town I used to live in in Ohio, have a law that over 4 dogs requires a kennel license...sometimes this is only for breeders, other times it is a general rule for everyone, they may want to look into this.

[Sarah Armstrong]

She says that they can't have a kennel where they are zoned.

[strongjannabiz]

That is a LOT of dogs, how does one person, or even two, have time and money for that many dogs?

[Sarah Armstrong]

Three of them (Patchworks, her boyfriend, and the friend/roommate) help with all of it. Most of their money goes into the dogs. Actually, the dogs eat better than they do. The day the AC came. She was making oatmeal for the dogs, because during the cold months, she'd add oatmeal to all of their meals.

All the dogs are in great condition, and definitely are cared for. Plus they keep the yard very clean. Poo is always cleaned up. Plus I have been there quite a few times, and the only time the dogs would bark is if someone came into the driveway, and as soon as the person was inside, the barking stopped.

I personally couldn't own that many, but they do a pretty good job of it. The Girl that owns the house only has seven dogs, but the rest are her friends, however, she helps her out with them.

[adariseediups]

It's sad that this has happened, but people need to check into the laws before accumulating that many dogs. Just because no one told them no ouright and just because others have many dogs, doesn't mean it's legal.

I wish her the best in placing all the dogs. I know she has 5 or more of her own, so who is the one having to get rid of his/her dogs?

[Sarah Armstrong]

Yeah, and she mentions that in her thread that you should check your local zoning, as she learned the hard way. I still think it's crazy that AC didn't know about it though, and that they took her money to license the dogs without mentioning the zoning law, but you're right, people need to be aware of zoning and laws in their area.

Her friend placing her dogs with other people until she gets a new place, because most of the trouble started once she moved in, since, she has the majority of the dogs. When it was just Patchworks with her 7 dogs, no one said a thing.

[adariseediups]

Well, I hope everything works out for them.

[letmelogin]

"Anywhere a dog could be placed,A drawer" lol.

[Jesslovers]

So sorry you had been hasseled.Though I couldnt imagine owning that many dogs.My 4 are enuff.lol.In our city we are required a county dog liscence for all dogs 3 months and older,and utd rabies vaccine/tag for all dogs and cats. There is a dog limit here,but it relates to 'breeding dogs' and only requires a 'kennel liscence' for intact dogs used for breeding numbering over 6 OR over 25 puppies being sold or bought in a calender year.No limit on spayed/neutered dogs provided they are cared for.Our AC guy is really great.He's tough,hes fair,and he educates people.He's promotes responsible pet ownership,and often remarks about his affection for the pit bull breed.So I live in a good place,with decent AC. Thank god.

[trettegeani]

And I thought I was a hoarder with 6 dogs...

You're not that advanced yet.....you're only on "collector" level.....

[trettegeani]

I ran into the same thing with Dog limit and town code....

We got a third dog 7yr. ago.....we didn't know there was a town code that limited us to 2 dogs....until we went to license her after 6mos.

And I said the same thing....Who reads the town code book ??
Anyone for a little light reading ??

We've gotten around it for 7yr., by having my daughter register the 3rd in another town. And we make sure our dogs don't create a problem with the neighbor's (we don't leave them tied out/we keep barking to a minimum/I keep our yard clean/etc....

It also doesn't hurt to have a few town officials as your friends too.....

However....when one of our dogs passes....I won't be replacing it.
I'll stick to the code.....

[gogoleanylinkfo]

Wow that sucks. It must feel like such a violation to have AC peeking in every drawer and cupboard.

I can see the point of dog limit laws, but on the other hand if they are taking proper care of them why shouldn't it be okay? I don't really know much about how they do zoning, but you'd think they'd have kennel licenses available for people with that many dogs...

The county I used to live in had dog limits for each city. The city I lived in you are only supposed to have 2 dogs per household, regardless of the dogs being owned by separate roommates or whatever. When my roomie was filling out the application for her puppy at the shelter they directed us to the city hall to get a kennel license.
So we go ask at the desk about a kennel license and the lady is like okay you have to fill out this, this, and this; then pay about $5-600 to apply for a conditional use permit; which has to go before a judge before its approved; which will take about 6-8 weeks. And then its like another $2-300 for the actual license or permit or whatever. I forget all the details, point is I was like oh hell no, it'd be cheaper to move!
Her mom went in and adopted him. Everyone on our block had like 2-4 dogs anyway, so its not like they would rat on us. Neighbordhood Association president lived next door and he and his wife have 3 Akitas. Our landlords also have three dogs.
That pup could not have a better home either. I will never regret working around that.

Laws like this don't help anyone. All they do is punish people who are trying to do the right thing. Byb-ers and people who don't shouldn't have any dogs (much less five or six) aren't going to license their animals anyway, so why make a kennel license something that is impossible for someone to get?

[Sarah Armstrong]

Yeah, she isn't even in a city. She is in a very rural area, which just amazes me that they have a pet limit. However, she can have as many chickens and cows as she wants, the zoning people told her.

[bugagasikaga]

Yeah, she isn't even in a city. She is in a very rural area, which just amazes me that they have a pet limit. However, she can have as many chickens and cows as she wants, the zoning people told her.

That's just plain crazy. May I ask where this is located?

[hechicxxrr]

I am really sorry to hear, I just hope that the extra dogs can be placed into caring homes where they will be looked after. In situations like this it is always the animals I feel sorry for.