[ChRotties]

For those of you that aren't familiar with the 91 page draconian dog "law"*cough*, you may read it in it's entirety here:
www.louisville-pets.com You will need Adobe Acrobat to open the file.

From today's Courier-Journal:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...WS01/703281218

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Lawsuit challenges dog curbs
Clubs, sportsmen, vets seeking relief

By Dan Klepal
dklepal@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



Kennel clubs, cat clubs, sportsmen and veterinarians joined yesterday to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Louisville's controversial new dog ordinance.

The ordinance, signed into law in Jan. 4, significantly increases license fees for animals deemed to be dangerous or potentially dangerous and restricts how dogs that have not been spayed or neutered can be kept.



Jon Fleischaker, attorney for the 12 organizations and individuals suing the city, said his clients believe the ordinance violates the federal and state constitutions. The suit, filed in Jefferson Circuit Court, claims that the ordinance isn't even a "dog law."

"It is a law that restricts the freedoms of people," the suit says.

"The law allows unfettered discretion by city officials in dealing with the property of people, without standards and without guidelines," Fleischaker said. "This is an effort by city officials to dictate how people deal with their pets, when their pets aren't bothering anyone."

The suit asks the court to strike down the ordinance but does not seek a restraining order against its enforcement.

Norman Auspitz, the owner of the Kentucky Colonels Cat Club, said he joined as a plaintiff because the ordinance is "anti-pet."

"It's a bizarre thing," Auspitz said. "The law talks about unaltered animals, be they dogs, be they cats, be they rabbits."

The ordinance was debated for more than a year after two fatal attacks -- one on a 2-year-old girl, the other on an elderly man. It originally was to be a ban on pit bulls and Rottweilers, two breeds that some people say are inherently aggressive.

Eventually, the council dropped the idea of bans on specific breeds, opting instead for higher license fees for dogs that have not been spayed or neutered, and dictating that any sexually unaltered dog must be kept on a 4-foot leash whenever off the owner's property.

The ordinance also says that animal control will spay or neuter any unaltered dog it picks up -- a provision that the council may change next week.

The council approved the ordinance 16-8 after a nine-hour meeting Dec. 20, during which numerous last-minute amendments were passed.

Metro Council President Rick Blackwell said the ordinance is necessary for public safety. He said Animal Services Director Gilles Meloche is confident of his department's ability to enforce the ordinance, and the Jefferson County attorney's office is confident that it is constitutional.

"I feel like we put together a pretty comprehensive ordinance," Blackwell said. "There was a ton of discussion on it, a lot of different viewpoints. At some point, we felt like we had to move forward with something that we had the votes for. If there were any changes (later), then so be it. We'd look at them."

The suit says the law does not protect the public.

"Science does not support the ordinance's false presumption that unaltered dogs are more aggressive than altered dogs," the suit says. "Further, the ordinance's definitions of 'potentially dangerous' and 'dangerous' dogs are so vague and overbroad that they effectively include every dog in Louisville."

Council member Kelly Downard, R-16th District, is in a delicate position of being on council and yet supporting many aspects of the lawsuit. Downard voted against the ordinance.

"Half the council never read the ordinance before voting on it because they didn't get it until that night," Downard said. "It's awkward. A large group of us is against it. The law was put together so quickly, it conflicts with itself in many cases."

THE PLAINTIFFS

The Louisville Kennel Club

The League of Kentucky Sportsmen

Kentucky Houndsmen's Association

Greater Louisville Training Club

Felines Cat Club

Dimes and Dollars Cat Club

Kentucky Colonels Cat Club

Waggin' Tail Kennels

Royalton Kennels

Paul Lee of Louisville

H. Patrick King Jr., veterinarian

Kurt Oliver, veterinarian

[Laurelin]

I would just like to say that I absolutely loathe that law. It's so pointless.

[ChRotties]

Yep, pointless and unconstitutional.

Keeping all paws crossed here that that garbage of an ordinance gets thrown under the bus with the ones that wrote it, and that includes HSUS (who helped!)

[Chloef_2799]

Man I really would love to have some of the morons in my city and other cities who come up with these laws to go for a walk through the field behind my hosue and the conservation area near me and see what dogs they are greeted happily by and the dogs who accost and aggressively charge them. The ones more likely to charge and bark and growl.....goldens, labs, huskys, akitas. The ones who usually run happily by ready to lick you all over and get lots of treats and pets are the rotties, GSDs, boxers and *god forbid* the pit bulls. Honest to god. I have only met a few shepherds and rotties that I couldn't approach and the reason I couldn't pet them or approach was because they were police dogs or airport security dogs.
I like the mayor of my town.....but seriously I would love to introduce him to some of the dogs I know and then ask him if he thinks they would turn in two seconds from loving drooly dog to blood thirsty beast because "its genetic."