Woman faces big fine over small dogs
ANNOYANCE: Neighbors gripe about 18 pooches kept at city home.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News
Published: August 27, 2005
Last Modified: August 27, 2005 at 01:30 AM
WASILLA -- A woman who says she keeps 18 purebred Shetland sheepdogs at her south Wasilla home faces hundreds of dollars in fines over her refusal to remove most of the small dogs.
Thursday night, an animal control officer issued Deborah Luper several citations, totaling $520 in fines and filing fees.
"This is, to be really frank, a stunning development. Right out of left field," Luper said.
Animal protection administrator Cat Bullington of Houston said the tickets are for "animal annoyance" -- as in, annoying the neighbors -- along with failures to register the sheltie dogs, to get a kennel permit, to immunize one or more of the dogs for rabies and to comply with the original, written order for bringing the kennel in line with city codes.
Luper says she will appeal.
The Houston animal safety and protection department, which handles animal control duties in Wasilla, told Luper earlier this year that city law allows only three dogs per household.
Bullington said neighbors continue to complain regularly about the kennel, calling it noisy and smelly.
The city has denied her previous appeal and requests for a kennel. Luper isn't going quietly, she said, and, apparently, neither are her dogs.
The city of Wasilla also planned, as of Friday afternoon, to deliver a letter telling Luper she is still breaking city rules. The letter paves the way for a citation, which could take the case to court.
A court order would be necessary before the city or animal control could remove the dogs from Luper's home.
She says the city and animal control officers gave her mixed messages, first telling her lawyer they would extend the August deadline for getting rid of the dogs, then saying no extension was ever approved.
Bullington said she merely told Luper's lawyer, Ken Jacobus, that an extension was possible. After hearing recent complaints from neighbors and looking at the evidence, she said, the department decided to move ahead with the citations.
"Our goal is not to push her or rush her out," Bullington said. "We just want to work with her and make sure everybody is happy in this mess."
Luper works for Matanuska Electric Association. She was once a district chairwoman of the Republican Party, president of the Eagle River Community Council and a founder of the Christian Coalition of Alaska.
She enters her shelties in competitions and refers to them as her family.
But the dogs created a rift this year in her neighborhood. The Wasilla planning office fielded at least 20 objection letters when Luper applied for a kennel permit. Neighbors say it's bad for property values and groundwater to have so many animals in an area where it's not allowed by the city or subdivision covenants.
Luper has talked about trying to get the Wasilla city code changed. She hopes to see a special "hobby" kennel permit created, allowing people who raise purebreds like her shelties to own more than three dogs within city limits.
City planner Sandra Garley said Luper hasn't filed any request for such a change, but Luper says she's part of a group launching a petition to allow hobby kennels.
Wyatt Weinstein, who lives next door to Luper and worries the dog yard is too close to his well, said that while Luper hasn't given up on keeping the dogs, many of her neighbors aren't exactly lying down either.
"Everybody's been keeping on it, just trying to make sure that the city of Wasilla and animal control are going to follow through," he said.
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