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Karen’s Efforts to Defend Responsible Dog Owners Locally:
Karen is a supporter of Michigan’s newest organization to defend responsible dog owners, Protect MI Dogs.
The North Muskegon City Council adopted a new animal ordinance in 2007. When we heard that they were considering a pit bull ban, Karen attended the Public Safety Committee’s meeting and brought some information with her. The council members in attendance were very welcoming and eager to consider the interests of all dog owners in their community, as well as their neighbors’ concerns. As a result, the Committee and the Council decided to keep the ordinance non breed-specific, and to focus instead on better definitions of “dangerous” and “vicious” in order to keep the community safe. In addition, Karen helped them develop a brochure to promote responsible dog ownership. Read and print the brochure here. Read the current city ordinance here.
Muskegon City Residents:As a response to the acts of irresponsible dog owners in Muskegon, the City Commission changed the animal ordinance in May of 2007, limiting all dogs to 6 feet or less of leash length. Karen proposed an amendment in June which would enable service dogs, police dogs, dogs in training, and dogs which are competing or performing in public to work on longer leads or off-leash. The Commission accepted this change, and the new change was effective on July 26, 2007. As responsible dog owners, it is our responsibility to ensure that our dogs are picked up after, and that the new exceptions to the leash law are respected. Dogs not in training for off-leash reliability and higher levels of obedience, competing, performing, or certified as service or police dogs should not be off-leash in public places. Please respect the rights, safety, and concerns of other citizens when you bring your dog into public places. Read the current city ordinance here. Note that the City of Muskegon considers dogs resembling “pit bulls” to be “dangerous”, and thus falling under several restrictions in their containment and owner’s insurance requirements. We oppose breed-specific restrictions such as this.
Muskegon County was drafting an Animal Ordinance when a Vector Department worker welcomed Karen’s input. One of the most important places which Karen influenced was the statement of “restraint”, which includes the phrase, “leash or lead of adequate length”. This allows for training to occur on county property with lines longer than 6 feet, an important aspect of training for off-leash reliability, especially for working dogs.
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