Record-Journal
09-20-2007, 01:01 AM
By Elisabeth Strillacci, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — On Route 9 north in New Britain Monday, cars swerved and slammed on brakes as a dog meandered across the highway.
It’s not an unusual occurrence, according to Meriden Animal Control Officer Ed Burgess. Dealing with roaming dogs is the job of the animal control officer in each town, but Burgess and others in his position say the laws don’t always make it easy.
Burgess said he is often frustrated by the lack of power behind the laws he is entrusted to enforce.
“Meriden doesn’t have a leash law, but what we do is enforce the state law,” he said. That law, however, leaves room for interpretation. It states a dog not on the property of its owner must be “leashed or clearly under the verbal control of the owner or handler.”
A wandering dog with no owner in sight is clearly a violation, said Burgess, but a person walking a dog off leash is not quite as clear cut.
“A person passing by doesn’t have any way of knowing how much the dog is under the control of the owner,” he said. “And there isn’t always a way to predict how a dog will react. The dog may not obey.”
Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington also use the state law, which carries a $92 fine. Southington does have an additional leash requirement under town ordinance, Animal Control Officer David Ireland said, but the typical violation is a dog wandering unattended.
Roaming-dog violations don’t build or add up to larger fines. In other words, said Wallingford Animal Control Officer Rachel Amenta, every time someone is ticketed for allowing a dog to roam, it’s “just another $92 fine. It’s only if the dog is determined to be a nuisance because he’s damaging property or is a danger that we can send a court summons to the owner.”
Norma Charette in Cheshire said the only place dogs are required to be on leashes is in parks. “That’s a state requirement, too, but it only applies to public parks.”
And just what happens when a dog bites someone? That, too, is not set in stone. Burgess said in the case of a dog bite, the animal must be quarantined for 14 days following the incident, regardless of the situation.
If the bite happens on the owner’s property and the dog is up-to-date with rabies vaccines, the dog is quarantined on the owner’s property, Burgess said. If the bite happens off the owner’s property or the dog is not up to date with vaccines, the dog is quarantined at a shelter or a vet’s office.
“But there is nothing that says we can take the dog and put it down,” Burgess said. “In order for us to dispose of a dog, the case has to be very severe or there must be multiple incidents.”
In addition, Burgess said, the circumstances surrounding the bite must be taken into consideration.
“You’ve got to remember that the only defense a dog has is his teeth,” Burgess said. “He doesn’t have hands, so if he’s defending his food, or his territory, or himself, his mouth is all he’s got.”
Sometimes dogs are aggressive by personality, he said, and that can be a problem. “And you can’t judge a dog by its breed anymore, because there has been so much cross-breeding that what we’ve known about breeds in the past is no longer helpful.”
But sometimes dogs are simply reacting to what they perceive as a threat. And many dog owners are defensive of their animals.
It can lead to disputes such as the one between Robert Levak and his neighbor, Theodore Damm. Levak claims he was bitten in his own backyard by Damm’s dog, which he says is allowed to roam without his owner.
For his part, Damm said Levak isn’t telling the whole truth.
“The dog was unattended in the sense that I was standing in my doorway next door watching him, but no, I wasn’t right beside him,” Damm said. “He took my dog into his house, and he says the bite happened while they were inside, but no one witnessed it. So I’m not sure what to believe.” Damm said his dog, still a puppy, likes to play but isn’t known to bite. “He’s a little clumsy and he likes to lick, but I’ve never known him to bite.”
Levak also complains that Damm doesn’t clean up after his dog, which is required by all towns. Damm said he “absolutely” cleans up after his dog, and that Levak may be mistaking what other dogs leave behind as belonging to his dog.
Burgess said therein lies a large part of the problem with enforcing the law requiring cleanup.
“It’s almost impossible to enforce,” Burgess said, “because you really have to catch them in the act. People have a tendency to forget about the laws, or they don’t care. Having a dog is a responsibility. There is a lot of care involved with an animal. I would recommend that anyone considering getting a dog or any other pet research what’s involved first to be sure they are willing to invest the time and energy that’s going to be needed.”
estrillacci@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
MERIDEN — On Route 9 north in New Britain Monday, cars swerved and slammed on brakes as a dog meandered across the highway.
It’s not an unusual occurrence, according to Meriden Animal Control Officer Ed Burgess. Dealing with roaming dogs is the job of the animal control officer in each town, but Burgess and others in his position say the laws don’t always make it easy.
Burgess said he is often frustrated by the lack of power behind the laws he is entrusted to enforce.
“Meriden doesn’t have a leash law, but what we do is enforce the state law,” he said. That law, however, leaves room for interpretation. It states a dog not on the property of its owner must be “leashed or clearly under the verbal control of the owner or handler.”
A wandering dog with no owner in sight is clearly a violation, said Burgess, but a person walking a dog off leash is not quite as clear cut.
“A person passing by doesn’t have any way of knowing how much the dog is under the control of the owner,” he said. “And there isn’t always a way to predict how a dog will react. The dog may not obey.”
Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington also use the state law, which carries a $92 fine. Southington does have an additional leash requirement under town ordinance, Animal Control Officer David Ireland said, but the typical violation is a dog wandering unattended.
Roaming-dog violations don’t build or add up to larger fines. In other words, said Wallingford Animal Control Officer Rachel Amenta, every time someone is ticketed for allowing a dog to roam, it’s “just another $92 fine. It’s only if the dog is determined to be a nuisance because he’s damaging property or is a danger that we can send a court summons to the owner.”
Norma Charette in Cheshire said the only place dogs are required to be on leashes is in parks. “That’s a state requirement, too, but it only applies to public parks.”
And just what happens when a dog bites someone? That, too, is not set in stone. Burgess said in the case of a dog bite, the animal must be quarantined for 14 days following the incident, regardless of the situation.
If the bite happens on the owner’s property and the dog is up-to-date with rabies vaccines, the dog is quarantined on the owner’s property, Burgess said. If the bite happens off the owner’s property or the dog is not up to date with vaccines, the dog is quarantined at a shelter or a vet’s office.
“But there is nothing that says we can take the dog and put it down,” Burgess said. “In order for us to dispose of a dog, the case has to be very severe or there must be multiple incidents.”
In addition, Burgess said, the circumstances surrounding the bite must be taken into consideration.
“You’ve got to remember that the only defense a dog has is his teeth,” Burgess said. “He doesn’t have hands, so if he’s defending his food, or his territory, or himself, his mouth is all he’s got.”
Sometimes dogs are aggressive by personality, he said, and that can be a problem. “And you can’t judge a dog by its breed anymore, because there has been so much cross-breeding that what we’ve known about breeds in the past is no longer helpful.”
But sometimes dogs are simply reacting to what they perceive as a threat. And many dog owners are defensive of their animals.
It can lead to disputes such as the one between Robert Levak and his neighbor, Theodore Damm. Levak claims he was bitten in his own backyard by Damm’s dog, which he says is allowed to roam without his owner.
For his part, Damm said Levak isn’t telling the whole truth.
“The dog was unattended in the sense that I was standing in my doorway next door watching him, but no, I wasn’t right beside him,” Damm said. “He took my dog into his house, and he says the bite happened while they were inside, but no one witnessed it. So I’m not sure what to believe.” Damm said his dog, still a puppy, likes to play but isn’t known to bite. “He’s a little clumsy and he likes to lick, but I’ve never known him to bite.”
Levak also complains that Damm doesn’t clean up after his dog, which is required by all towns. Damm said he “absolutely” cleans up after his dog, and that Levak may be mistaking what other dogs leave behind as belonging to his dog.
Burgess said therein lies a large part of the problem with enforcing the law requiring cleanup.
“It’s almost impossible to enforce,” Burgess said, “because you really have to catch them in the act. People have a tendency to forget about the laws, or they don’t care. Having a dog is a responsibility. There is a lot of care involved with an animal. I would recommend that anyone considering getting a dog or any other pet research what’s involved first to be sure they are willing to invest the time and energy that’s going to be needed.”
estrillacci@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225