"Kennel licenses in Calhoun County
Are not in compliance with the State of Michigan dog law of 1919 as amended
Need a bit more space to explain it."
I received a response from one and then I sent him this.
Was the message........your email form doesn't allow for many words or characters.
Attached file will explain it better.
the file
Calhoun County
Controller/Administrator
Board of
Commissioners
RE: Kennel licenses in Calhoun
County
There is a movement
afoot of dog owners and kennel owners that are a bit weary of overbearing local
governments who are overstepping their authority with regard to dogs. Some are even preparing to bring suit against
some counties with egregious ordinances that do not comply with state law (the
dog law of 1919, as amended). I have
been researching kennel licensing in the State of Michigan for some time.
I believe your county is currently charging $10 for a kennel license for up to
ten dogs and another $25 for more than 10 dogs.
That is what the dog law of 1919, as amended mandates and I was very
pleased to see another county within that law.
However I did run across
a few things that could prove to be problematic for you.
1.
Your ordinances include
Article 6 Kennel Licensing. There is no provision in the dog law of
1919, as amended for a county to promulgate regulations pertaining to
kennels. There is also no provision for
charging a fee for a kennel inspection. A county does not have the authority to
adopt any rule, regulation or policy with regard to kennels. Your kennel licensing ordinance is not valid. MCL 287.289A
2.
Your Article 6 Section
6.9 states: Any kennel dog four (4) months old or older
must possess a valid rabies vaccination before a current kennel license shall
be issued. The dog law of 1919, as amended does not require kennel dogs to be
vaccinated for rabies. MCL 287.290
3.
It appears your kennel
inspection might be an annual thing. The dog law of 1919, as amended,
does not require an annual
inspection. You have no authority to
conduct an annual inspection. The dog
law of 1919, as amended, requires one
inspection prior to issuing a kennel license to a new kennel. The annual inspection may seem like a good
idea, but there is no provision in law for it, and your Section 6.4 states an
animal control officer shall have the right to inspect any kennel in the county
of Calhoun. I will repeat…….. A county does not have the authority to
adopt any rule, regulation or policy with regard to kennels. Your kennel licensing ordinance is not valid.
4.
Your application for a
kennel license states: I do hereby make application for
a kennel license in accordance with MCLA 287.270, Section 10, but your
ordinance does not comply with MCLA 287.270 Section 10. Your ordinance is not valid.
As it is, you appear to
claim to conform with those sections of the dog law, but you do not. That could put your county at risk of a
lawsuit. Actually, puts your
commissioners, personally, at risk, too. They, personally, are only immune from
prosecution if they are acting within the law.
Your best bet would be to repeal your ordinance, immediately, then study
the dog law of 1919, as amended and see if you can stay within the limits set
by it. Your risk management people may
be able to explain things better than I.
I certainly hope to hear
these things are corrected and I hope not to hear of lawsuits being brought
against your commissioners or your county.
There was some more back and forth correspondence with this one commissioner. I don't expect much to come of it, but they are informed and the people that live there can use this info to stick up for themselves. Calhoun county was one that I had high hopes of operating within the law. They are closer to it than most counties.
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