Dangerous Animal Appeal Hearing

Yesterday was a big day for our neighborhood. The city held the Dangerous Animal Appeal Hearing concerning the dogs next door. Eight "good" neighbors, three police officers and two animal control officers were present before the decision board which consisted of the Chief of Police, the Mayor and the City Administrator. We had a court reporter to join as well for the minutes of the proceedings.

Our neighbor and his former girl friend were there as well though we did not see our neighbor. He met with the board separately and was not willing to face the neighbors. We were told he was not willing to be in the room with us because he was afraid he would yell at us because he was too mad. The former girl friend stayed for awhile but then left part way through the comments.

Two of the three dogs that live next door are deemed "Dangerous Animals" by the city now. They can only be in the city limits if they meet a list of criteria and one of which is believed to be impossible to meet. The first criteria is a 100K liability insurance policy and they don't know that anyone will write that kind of policy for that type of dog. One of the dogs was already banned from the city and another one was banned yesterday. We shouldn't see him anymore after today but interestingly enough he did get out today!

We really don't think that this is over and we really don't want it to get personal. We want our children to be safe playing outside and now we feel that they are with the dogs gone. We just don't want to be concerned about their safety from other actions though.