Proposal gets revisions before council debate

Tuesday, November 4, 2003

BY TOM GANTERT
News Staff Reporter

Lizards can still be kept as pets in Ann Arbor after a proposal to ban them was scrapped along with 40 other restrictions on animal care and ownership.

The Ann Arbor City Council will debate a much less restrictive version of the animal handling ordinance Thursday, after charges were made to the proposed law.

The original ordinance caused a stir because it contained what some called draconian rules about how owners could treat their pets.

Sections have been removed which would have made it illegal for pet stores to sell dogs, cats, rabbits and reptiles and would have outlawed classroom pets, said City Council Member Heidi Herrell, D-3rd Ward, who sponsored the resolution.

Also, people will no longer be required to call the police or the Humane Society if they should hit any animal on the road.

Herrell said she made the revisions because the council might not have supported the original ordinance, and said that some of its provisions might have been subject to legal challenges.

Council Member Margie Teall, D-4th Ward, said the original version was a little "over the top" but significant changes have been made.

"I don't think it will be put off for another meeting," Teall said. "I think it will pass, but there are a lot of changes going on right now."

One ordinance provision that remained was the "pooper scooper" amendment, which allows authorities to ticket residents who walk their dogs without some instrument to pick up after their pet.

Donna Hatch, co-owner of University Aquarium and Pet Shop, said the removal of the ban on selling dogs, cats, rabbits and reptiles was a good decision.

Herrell "probably got a lot of flak about it," Hatch said. "She probably decided the way to get this whole thing passed is to take it out. I still think the whole thing needs to be looked at."

The City Council will hold a nonpartisan caucus meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers to debate the revisions. The council's regular meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday because of today's elections.

"There is still an awful lot of good in this ordinance," Herrell said.

She said the original ordinance prohibited pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits because she said there are plenty of those animals available for adoption through local animal shelters.

She opposed keeping reptiles as pets because of the diseases they can carry. She also expressed concern about the living conditions of caged reptiles and animals in shelters.

The ordinance had other revisions that were less restrictive.

For example, an early version of the ordinance stated that no pet - including fish - could be left alone by an owner for more than 24 consecutive hours. That has been changed. Now, only dogs cannot be left alone for 24 hours; other animals can't be left for 72 consecutive hours.

Residents will be limited to 12 pets, not including fish. A grandfather clause will exempt people who had more than 12 animals before passage of the new law, but it requires them to register the pets with the city.

Some residents have questioned how the city can enforce some of the new laws.

"I think it was a good-intentioned idea that got too big and it made it unenforceable," said Rick Hartman, general manager of the Huron Pet Supply.

Police Chief Dan Oates said he is not sure whether the revised ordinance will result in more complaints.

"My concern is I have no additional resources to direct to this," Oates said. "My organization has been through four years of budget cuts. I'm not going to dedicate police officers to animal complaints."

Oates said he has two animal control officers who work Monday through Saturday.

The revised ordinance also devotes 10 pages to how to identify "dangerous" dogs and how such dogs shall be treated.

Dogs are classified based on three different levels. For example, a level one would be assigned to a dog that attacks or bites another domestic animal without causing serious injury. A level-three dog would be one that bites or attacks a person on two or more occasions.

The ordinance stipulates how owners must treat dogs once they have been classified.
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