Code Enforcement Board upholds citation after dogs found off property and poultry killed

The Louisville Metro Code Enforcement Board upheld a citation and imposed a $150 civil penalty on March 21 after hearing testimony and reviewing photographs showing two dogs off property and multiple dead birds at 10311 Keys Ferry Road. Hearing officer Aaron Cole said the record supported a finding that the animals had been unrestrained off the owner’s property and therefore violated the applicable animal-control ordinance.

Kimberly Philpott, the complaining witness, described two incidents in which the animals left a pen, growled and barked at her and were later associated with “dead chickens and everything all over the place.” Philpott said she followed the dogs back to a residence and provided photographs to the board. “I got out of my car and I had to get back in it because they growled and barked at me and they had killed a bunch of animals,” she testified.

Animal-control Officer Kelsey Valance told the board officers visited the property on multiple dates and observed deceased fowl at the scene, although she said the officers did not directly observe the dogs off the property in the field notes presented. The citation’s narrative referenced an October 14, 2024 incident in which two dogs, identified as Eli and Beast, were seen leaving a fowl coop and subsequent on-site observations that identified dozens of dead birds.

Residents at the cited property disputed portions of the account. Nancy Breeden, who said one of the dogs is microchipped to her, told the board some of the photographs and dates were inaccurate and called the characterization of certain events “a bold faced lie.” The owner or occupant Billy Jones acknowledged the dogs resided at the property and was the recipient of the citation because he owned the property where the animals resided.

Hearing officer Aaron Cole said the ordinance governs the property owner’s responsibility for animals at the location. After weighing witness testimony, photo evidence and animal-control notes, Cole announced he would uphold the citation and the first-offense civil penalty of $150.

The board did not impose additional penalties beyond the first-offense amount. Cole also dismissed another related case that lacked a present witness when that witness failed to appear.

The case was recorded on the docket as ENFBRD-25-001679804 (Carlton Drive). The matter concluded with Cole’s ruling upholding the citation and the $150 penalty; any appeal or further district-court criminal proceedings cited by participants are separate and were referenced but not adjudicated by the enforcement board.