Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 27, 1993 TAG: 9307270234
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The county's existing animal-control ordinance prohibits dogs from running out of control off their owner's property at any time. The supervisors are considering amending the law to include an exemption for dogs taking part in a field trial or legal hunt or dogs shepherding or guarding livestock.
Several hunters spoke in favor of the change, while others warned that loose-running dogs could pose a danger to wildlife and cause a nuisance for property owners. Many hunters only recently became aware that they have been violating the animal ordinance, which has been in effect since 1975.
Sarah Owen, a member of the Botetourt Mounted Search and Rescue Unit, said the dog she uses in searches has to run free to be trained. "It would help me if this ordinance were passed," she said. "I hate breaking the law, but I have to."
Danny Thorn of Blacksburg, who was wearing a "Bear Hunting" T-shirt, said hunters didn't try to "make life miserable" for anybody and said the county doesn't have a big problem with loose-running dogs. "The dogs that are running illegally need to be picked up," he said.
But Roger Denny, who identified himself as a hunter, said he has had "first-hand experience with dogs running through my property at all hours of the night." On two occasions in May, he caught dogs on his property chasing deer and running through turkey-nesting areas, he said.
Ron Farley of Smith Creek Road said his problem was similar to Denny's. Farley said the county's chief dog warden, Kelly Walters, was turning his beagles loose to run deer, and they were coming onto his property.
Walters, who first asked the supervisors to consider changing the dog law in May, did not speak at the hearing.
David Linkous, vice president of the Blue Ridge Coon Hunters and Sportsmen's Club, said that coon hunting brings money into the county. The club hosts five events a year that draw up to 300 people, many from out of the area, he said.
Some hunters said they ask permission before hunting on others' land and said they don't want their dogs running where they're not supposed to. But you can't control where the chase of game will lead, they said.
Earl Lawrence, who told the board "I love my dogs," said he didn't want them to be on anyone's land who didn't want them there. He said he tries to keep his dogs close when he's hunting, but added, "You've only got so much control over an animal."
Ron Brown, president of the Montgomery County Humane Society, said he spends his weekend trying to raise money for animals that are sometimes injured by free-running dogs. Having unwanted dogs on a person's property is an invasion of privacy, he said.
"These gentlemen admit they can't always control their dogs," and the board should take that into consideration, Brown said.
When animals get loose, the circumstances created for animals are a lot worse than one might imagine, said Hugh Veit, a veterinary pathologist at Virginia Tech. They become emaciated, are shot or wounded in other ways and may wind up running livestock, he said.
Veit urged the supervisors to go beyond the public hearing and bring dog owners and hunters together with those opposing a change in the law to try to work out a compromise. "You want to be real careful what you do here tonight for those animals," he said.
The supervisors had not planned to vote on the proposed change Monday. They will consider it at a future meeting.
In other action Monday, the supervisors:
Approved the sale of 11.07 acres of county land next to the new Blacksburg elementary school site on Prices Fork Road. The Town of Blacksburg, which will pay $179,670 for the land, will build a recreational complex on it.
Endorsed an application for a $420,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation to help pay for the construction of the Huckleberry Trail along an old railroad right-of-way from Blacksburg to Christiansburg. Over $100,000 in local donations has already been received for the 5.5-mile trail project, which could begin next spring if the grant is approved.
by CNB