Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animal Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges board to act after six neighbor dogs enter yard; asks for pet-limit ordinance
Summary
A Shabbona resident described repeated incidents in which neighboring dogs entered her property, attacked her dog and left feces; she asked the board to consider enforcement steps and possibly an ordinance limiting the number of household pets. Trustees recommended starting with county animal control and exploring an ordinance to cap animals by attrition.
Laura Jeffco, a resident who signed up to speak during public comment, told the village board she has documented repeated incidents of large dogs entering her property and threatening her small dog.
"We have six large dogs that live next to us who had come into our property and tried to attack our dog twice," Jeffco said, and she submitted pictures showing animals on her property. She said officers who previously came to her house were "very sympathetic" but told her she would need proof, so she now carries her phone outside to document repeat incidents.
Trustees and staff advised Jeffco to contact county animal control, which the sheriff's office recommended as the first enforcement step. A board member said animal-control officers can check rabies tags and investigate loose-animal complaints and that nuisance and loose-animal violations are the typical enforcement options available now.
Board members also discussed the possibility of adopting a local ordinance limiting the number of household pets. One trustee described a common local limit of three animals (dogs and cats combined) and noted a typical approach is to "grandfather" existing animals so an owner would not be required to remove current pets but could be limited by attrition.
The president said the village would start by pursuing animal-control follow-up and then evaluate whether an ordinance change is needed. "We'll start with animal control and see what they can do," the president said.
The board did not vote on any ordinance at the meeting; trustees said they would gather legal and enforcement details before bringing any proposed limit back for discussion.
