Animal control is out of control

Spectrum, by Todd Lewellyn

Recently our 10-year-old daughter and one of her friends decided to take our dogs for a walk. They strapped on their roller blades for a little surfing, hooked up the leashes and off they went.

Let me tell you about our dogs. Sam can be very intimidating. She's a golden retriever/Labrador mix with just a touch of Rottweiler. She weighs about 95 pounds and has a bark that will make your hair stand on end. Bear is a big Saint Bernard/malamute furball with a coat so thick she looks like she weighs more than 100 pounds rather than the 80 the scale tells us. Her bark shakes the walls of our house when she's indoors and if you're standing outside you can't help but wonder what is lurking behind the door. As loud as they bark and as big as they are, our dogs have never shown their teeth to anyone. I should also tell you that my daughter's friend is deathly afraid of dogs after being attacked last summer -- that is, afraid of all dogs but his own and ours. He's grown up around our dogs and has never had any reason to be afraid. All of the kids in our subdivision are free to come and go at will. They play with our dogs who are very protective of them. If any adults that the dogs don't know come near the kids the dogs immediately position themselves between the kids and the strangers.

This story took a bad turn very early in the surf/walk. Bear, the pup, spotted the neighbor's 14-year-old cat loose in their yard. She bolted after the cat like she usually does and my daughter, wearing roller blades, chose to drop the leash rather than allow the road to shred her body. Something very unusual happened this time as Bear ran after the cat. For the first time, the cat didn't run away. Bear grabbed the cat and shook it like her favorite pull toy. Unfortunately, the cat did not survive the incident. Now animal control says that Bear is "vicious" and must be killed for killing the cat.

The neighbor reported the incident to the Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation. They in turn notified us that we needed to bring the dog in for a 10-day quarantine to make sure she didn't have rabies. Both of our dogs are, and always have been, current on all vaccinations. When my wife took Bear to the shelter she was asked to sign a release. When she asked if we could pick Bear up on July 5, following the quarantine period, the officer said that at the end of the quarantine period Bear would be held for up to five more days until the chief made the classification determination. Since there had been a death (the neighbor's cat), Bear would most certainly be classified as "vicious," which meant her case would go before the Animal Care and Regulation Board for them to decree Bear's death sentence. You see, the strict guidance in Title 24 of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Code of Ordinances, Animal Control, requires the chief of animal control to classify Bear as "vicious." This is despite the fact that the owner of the cat has stated in writing that she didn't think Bear should be put down. The officer investigating our case told us that, in the time he's been with animal control, this board has never allowed a "vicious" animal to live.

This is the first offense for Bear, but because of the wording in the ordinance there is no room for sound judgment or common sense. Dogs chase cats! Dogs also chase squirrels, and birds, and just about anything else that moves. Occasionally they catch whatever it is they're chasing and their newfound "toy" ends up dying. Did you know that if your Mat-Su-residing dog kills a bird, a squirrel, or a cat it is labeled as "vicious" and doesn't get a second chance? Consider this definition taken directly from Title 24:

"'Vicious animal' means any animal which has, without provocation, caused serious injury or death to a human being or animal, whether on private or public property."

When adhering to the letter of the law excerpted above, if your cat kills a mouse it's considered vicious and should be put to sleep with no questions asked. Never mind the fact that this is what cats do … they kill mice. Oh, I almost forgot; they will also ask for a $100 check for boarding fees during the mandatory rabies quarantine period. They will also ask for another $100 check for the boarding between the filing of the report, the ruling of the chief of animal control, and the hearing of the board. If the hearing process takes more than 10 days, you will be billed for those boarding fees as well.

It is our understanding that the chief of animal control is trying to get this ordinance changed to allow additional classifications of animals. Currently, the borough has three classifications. Anchorage has five classifications that allow much more latitude and application of common sense in the case of an accident. As a Valley resident I'm just as inclined as the next guy to say "keep Anchorage in Anchorage." But in this case they have a better ordinance in place and Wasilla needs to give it a serious look before adopting an animal control ordinance of their own. The borough should also give their policy a thorough review and consider adopting some of Anchorage's measures. Our chief of animal control should have some leeway and authority in his or her decision-making and the ability to apply some common sense.

The city of Wasilla was set to take public comments on their adoption of an animal control ordinance at the July 14 council meeting. Please attend and let them know that we want to get this right and provide our chief animal control officer with the authority to exercise good judgment when classifying an animal.

Todd and Cindy Lewellyn are Wasilla residents.

Editor's note: This spectrum was submitted prior to the city's decision (See Page A2).