I'm posting this for the benefit of Eleanor Herrick, Holmen, WI. The township denied a variance allowing her to have more than 2 dogs and she was ready to give up and place her beloved Labradors. BTW, she had moved to this community of Holland, WI (the township making the decison) to care for her mother during her fight with cancer several years ago. With encouragement from other breeders, Eleanor has gotten her fight back. She has nice Labradors, loves them, provides a good life for them ... and her heart is breaking!

We're hoping to flood the Town Board of Holland, WI with protests ... both mail and e-mail. And get legal consul. There apparently have been other variances in the town, but Eleanor was denied for no valid reason. Here's a current case of unreasonable legislation and restrictions that could happen to any of us. Pretty soon we'll be banished from all communities if we don't turn the tide!

More information (and a heart-breaking write-up by Eleanor)is posted on my website at: www.tealwoodkennel.com.
Also at www.tarkom.com
Also at www.firesidelabs.com

Please look at the information and take a moment to contact the Town Board with a protest. (Mailing and e-mail addresses are on my website.)

If you have any other advice and want to contact Eleanor privately and directly, her e-mail address is: hhlabradors@charter.net. Thanks so much!

This is exactly why so many owners of multiple dogs never license their canines, or even utilize veterinarians within their own community. Why should someone do the right thing and apply for dog licenses or even a variance when they are constantly limited like this. The townships and animal control have bigger fish to fry - like catching the people abusing animals or allowing their animals to run as strays.

I'll admit mine aren't licensed. Why? Because I don't want to draw attention to the fact I have dogs and how many I have. I currently am within the legal limits for my community but who's to say in a year or two I won't be over their pre-determined limit? So, if get back one of my dogs to be rehomed or I take on a rescue like Eleanor did I should targeted and penalized? Gosh forbid someone try to be upstanding and "do the right thing."

Plus, I still don't really understand why dog owners are targeted. Cat owners don't have to license their cats. Where I live, there are a LOT of cats that run rampant. That annoys me to no end.

I'll wager that my multiple dogs are better behaved than dogs in the average household and I'd say my yard is picked up much more regularly too. My crew is not allowed create a nuisance by barking; one or two barks out of any of them and they are getting reprimanded. If they insist on continuing, they come back in the house. The one dog my neighbor has is allowed to carry on incessantly though :s

Those of us reputable breeders with multiple dogs are NOT the problem like animal control want to imply.

KUDOS to Eleanor for standing up and fighting along with all the other Lab breeders and owners who have joined in to help her in her fight. I'm all for obeying the laws if they are within reason but this is ridiculous.

I just went to the Tealwood site and read about Reno being forced to go to another home.
I am sitting here crying.
My heart goes out to Elenor. She is losing one of her boys/kids. The people who are getting him are getting a treasure for sure.
The goverment who is making her do this is so cruel.
I could not bear it if it happened to me.
I pray that something can be done to fight this!!!!!
Please write folks. I am!!!!!!!!!!

I'm wondering if anyone has pointed out to the government officials that to many of us, our 4-legged crew are our "kids." My Labs are better behaved than many children I know. Last time I checked, there were no limits on how many two-legged children could live in a household . . .

This is exactly why I have been doing what I have been doing. It could be you next. Eleanor is a great person and this is absolutely awful!

Thank you Gina!

I hope we can make a difference!

Yes we can make a difference!!!! Email NOW!!!!! Brilliant letters are nice, but even just a couple of words will count!!!! A huge number of emails cannot fail to impress!!!

Town Clerk, Marilyn Pedretti
Mr. George Hammes and members of the Town Board
W7937 County Rd MH
Holmen, WI 54636

Town of Holland email: townofholland@msn.com
Telephone - 608-526-3354
Fax - 608-526-6564

I live in Mass. A little over a year ago, I moved from a gorgeous 2900 square foot custom built and designed home with a 2 car garage, on 4 acres. My husband and I cleared the land, designed the home and built much of it. My daughter was born there and 3 of my beloved canine kids are buried there. among other family pets who were lost over the 20 yrs we lived there.
Now we live in a lovely one bedroom home, 28 X 50, no garage. But we do have almos t 5 acres. Why you ask?
Because of the town issues you are all discussing.
I was given permission by the local police, dog officer and town officials that would talk with me about obtaining more than 3 , to have them. I was told that there were no by-laws regarding such restrictions, and as long as I was responsible it was fine. I paid for individual licences of multiple Labs for years and years. Our property was set off the road, bordered by a river, a road, 2 acres that we owned, and the 4th abutting land was owned by the utilities company ( my dh works for) as it was where the high tension wires ran. I ran a dog training business out of my home, which I had a town permit to do. My neighbors signed petitions to allow us to keep all the Labs.
Well let me tell you ALL, get a copy of your town by-laws TOMORROW!!!!!!
Mass General law states that if you own more than 3 dogs, a kennel license is required. OK you say, simple enough, WRONG. We lived in an area that was zoned so that we could not get a kennel license.
So you say don't license your dogs anymore. WRONG again. The vets in Mass are required to send rabies vaccination certs to the town. How do I know? When I went to license 3 of my dogs, all 6 were in the system. The town clerk called the Town Counsel while I was there and I was told point blank- "get rid of 3 of your dogs." Long story short, and lots of money thrown away on lawyers and zoning and planning boards, I could not re-zone the street or part of the street, I could not get grandfathered in, I could not get a kennel license because of the current zoning. Kicker is, all the surrounding roads were re-zoned not that many years ago. In their infinite wisdom, my road was ommitted.
So we spent a ton of money getting the house ready to sell, in addition to all that we had already spent. Our money situation was not pretty. We also ended up selling for a whole lot less than the home's worth because it took 8 mos to sell and the town was breathing down my back.
Well I would not give up any of my Labs- Period!
So we chose to live with many changes until we could settle in and make the new home comfortable & more convenient. Thank God I live in an Agricultural town now. The day I moved here I went to the Town Clerk and got a kennel license for 10 Labs. I only needed one for 8, but thats' how they do things around here. They are country folk and the way I thought the town was where we lived before. I sure miss alot of my old home, especialy being able to go to my boy's graves and pray when I wanted to. But when I start feeling nostalgic, I look around at 8 smiling faces and wiggling bottoms,and they are all worth it. And my daughter is a true Labrador lover. She still doesn't have her own bedroom. She sleeps on the daybed in the living room. And she nevers complains one bit. What a great kid!

Wow, what a story! You went through hell and gave up a lot to keep your dogs ... good for you and your family. I said years ago I'd rather live in a run-down trailer than give mine up. But your story is really scary, thinking you were just fine for years, then WHAMO! Thanks for sharing ... glad it worked out for you so that you still have a good life.

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Replying to:

I live in Mass. A little over a year ago, I moved from a gorgeous 2900 square foot custom built and designed home with a 2 car garage, on 4 acres. My husband and I cleared the land, designed the home and built much of it. My daughter was born there and 3 of my beloved canine kids are buried there. among other family pets who were lost over the 20 yrs we lived there.
Now we live in a lovely one bedroom home, 28 X 50, no garage. But we do have almos t 5 acres. Why you ask?
Because of the town issues you are all discussing.
I was given permission by the local police, dog officer and town officials that would talk with me about obtaining more than 3 , to have them. I was told that there were no by-laws regarding such restrictions, and as long as I was responsible it was fine. I paid for individual licences of multiple Labs for years and years. Our property was set off the road, bordered by a river, a road, 2 acres that we owned, and the 4th abutting land was owned by the utilities company ( my dh works for) as it was where the high tension wires ran. I ran a dog training business out of my home, which I had a town permit to do. My neighbors signed petitions to allow us to keep all the Labs.
Well let me tell you ALL, get a copy of your town by-laws TOMORROW!!!!!!
Mass General law states that if you own more than 3 dogs, a kennel license is required. OK you say, simple enough, WRONG. We lived in an area that was zoned so that we could not get a kennel license.
So you say don't license your dogs anymore. WRONG again. The vets in Mass are required to send rabies vaccination certs to the town. How do I know? When I went to license 3 of my dogs, all 6 were in the system. The town clerk called the Town Counsel while I was there and I was told point blank- "get rid of 3 of your dogs." Long story short, and lots of money thrown away on lawyers and zoning and planning boards, I could not re-zone the street or part of the street, I could not get grandfathered in, I could not get a kennel license because of the current zoning. Kicker is, all the surrounding roads were re-zoned not that many years ago. In their infinite wisdom, my road was ommitted.
So we spent a ton of money getting the house ready to sell, in addition to all that we had already spent. Our money situation was not pretty. We also ended up selling for a whole lot less than the home's worth because it took 8 mos to sell and the town was breathing down my back.
Well I would not give up any of my Labs- Period!
So we chose to live with many changes until we could settle in and make the new home comfortable & more convenient. Thank God I live in an Agricultural town now. The day I moved here I went to the Town Clerk and got a kennel license for 10 Labs. I only needed one for 8, but thats' how they do things around here. They are country folk and the way I thought the town was where we lived before. I sure miss alot of my old home, especialy being able to go to my boy's graves and pray when I wanted to. But when I start feeling nostalgic, I look around at 8 smiling faces and wiggling bottoms,and they are all worth it. And my daughter is a true Labrador lover. She still doesn't have her own bedroom. She sleeps on the daybed in the living room. And she nevers complains one bit. What a great kid!

Thanks for the "push", Joan.

BTW, there is a front page article in the LaCrosse newspaper today. The on-line address is:
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/02dogs.txt.
They are posting comments on-line ... another good place to make yourself heard. Someone is also trying to get the AP onto this story.

Thanks Jenny:

I sure hope Eleanor has better luck with her town than we did. But having gone through our ordeal, I can't help feel discouraged for her. Hopefully the zoning is on her side and a lawyer can win her case.
Taking on towns is a huge project and not alot of fun!
I hope to read good news in the near future.

Is there any new info on this story. Was she able to find someone to hold her dogs why she fights the Town? TIA

I have no legal training, but isn't there something about citing previous case law? Maybe this would be of some help to her, or at least to contact this attorney for more information. I wouldn't be too quick to conclude that it's of no use because it was ruled in another state, before talking to an attorney anyway.

"Court Ruling Affecting Local Pet Limit Ordinances. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court struck down an ordinance that limited the number of dog or cats that could be maintained in a single residence on March 30, 1994. This means that if your municipality has a pet limit, it is unenforceable. For a copy of the ruling, contact Anthony W. BeBernardo Jr., Attorney at Law; BeBernardo Antoniono, MCCabe& Davis PC; 11 north Main Street; Greensburg, PA 15601.
The official citation of thie case is Commonwealth vs. Creighton, 163 PA Cmwlth 68, 639 A.2d 1296 (1994).

"Two higher courts have struck down ordinances limiting the amount of animals per household."
http://www.nokillnow.com/petlimitlawunconst.htm

Reviews the Pennsylvania case and the Minnesota Case at the above link.

If you write the Town Clerk, another case to reference:

"Kadash vs City of Williamsport (Pennsylvania), 1975: “What is not an infringement upon public safety and is not a nuisance cannot be made one by legislative fiat and then prohibited. Even legitimate legislative goals cannot be pursued by means which stifle fundamental personal liberty when the goals can otherwise be more reasonably achieved.”

So what is the town's evidence supporting ther 2 pet limit as being necessary so pets aren't a threat to public health or a nuisance?? More likely the number was picked arbitrarily and that should be viewed as unconstitutional in that the town is abusing it's powers to set forth laws to protect the health and welfare of it's citizens!

For what ever good it will do, I sent my email to the town clerk!

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I just wanted to thank everyone, every single person, who has taken an interest in this issue. Everybody who put Reno's story on their website, who wrote a letter, or sent an email, or forwarded it on to others who will do the same. THANK YOU!! Raising public awareness is really key.

Of course, I have a vested interest in happy resolution of this particular case, but in the larger picture, there are thousands of people across the country who either have been, are, or will be in my predicament. Thousands more who live in fear that they'll some day be "caught" and have to deal with the same stuff that I'm dealing with.

My hope is to 1) save my own dogs and 2) make Reno a "poster child" for raising public awareness about this issue and inciting the public to fight.

One can see by the comments following the article on the LaCrosse Tribune that the public is, for the most part, extremely sympathetic. I'd bet many of them are/were also completely unaware, or at least hadn't given it any meaningful thought.

If we dog people are going to win against the increasingly UN-dog friendly forces in this country. We've got to get the public educated on these issues, and on our side.

Again, a thousand thank you's to everyone who has supported me in my personal battle.

Bless you all.

Eleanor

Just checked the news article at
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/02dogs.txt#blogcomments

looks like comments are still being sent in and can be viewed.