Council considers limit on number of pets

Cape Girardeau pet owners would be barred from owning more than four dogs and four cats under a proposed ordinance being considered by the city council.

Pet owners who want to keep more animals would have to obtain special-use permits and business licenses to operate kennels at their homes, city officials said.

Residents who already own more than four city-licensed dogs or cats would be allowed to keep them under a grandfather clause that was added to the measure at the urging of council members.

The council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on four proposed nuisance abatement ordinances dealing with everything from weed violations to animal control. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at city hall.

Following the hearing, the council is scheduled to give a first reading to the four measures.

Final passage could come on Feb. 2. If that occurs, the limitation on pets would take effect on Feb. 12, city attorney Eric Cunningham said Friday.

Cape Girardeau residents are currently barred from having more than four dogs and four cats that aren't spayed or neutered. There is no limit on how many spayed or neutered animals residents can keep.

Aaron Baughn, a former animal control officer who helped draft the measure, told the council earlier this month that probably 100 city residents currently have more than four dogs or cats.

City officials said the limitation on the number of animals makes it easier for animal control officers to cite pet owners for nuisance violations. They don't have to determine whether the animals have been spayed or neutered or whether they have been neglected, officials said.

Councilwoman Evelyn Boardman doesn't think the restrictions on the number of animals is too severe. "I think four is generous," she said.

But Dr. Timothy Joplin, a Cape Girardeau chiropractor who owns seven dogs including four chows, objects to the proposal.

"It doesn't make any sense to me," he said.

The city, he said, shouldn't be concerned with how many animals a pet owner has as long as those pets are being properly cared for and aren't creating a nuisance.

Joplin understands that under the grandfather clause he will be able to keep all his dogs. But he suggested the proposed restriction would encourage pet owners in the future to hide their animals to avoid the law.

Cunningham said enforcement would be on the basis of complaints. City animal control officers won't be going door to door to see if pet owners are in compliance, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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