August 30, 2009 - Shavehead Lake Dogs
Would this dog bite you, or someone in your family?
Unfortunately, as friendly as our dog "Dusti" looks, and as friendly as she was to our family, (you should've seen how she played with our nieces and nephews), she did, unfortunately, bite our neighbor in the knee, and we had to say "goodbye" to Dusti, and put her down..
Dogs are very "unpredictable", and this year we have received numerous complaints about dogs from many different locations around the lake..
So much so, that one of our residents has sent in a letter to the SLA Association expressing their concern, which follows.
Cass County does have a "Dog Ordinance" in place, which does state that your pets must be in your "total control" at all times, and a "shock collar" is not considered at to be in your total control.. You can, and will be fined, if your pet is found to be in violation of the ordinance and/or causes harm to another person..
The phone number for animal control is: (269) 445-3701- they will keep your name in confidence if you report an animal that is a problem.
The letter that we have received follows, and once again, this complaint is not isolated - we've received numerous complaints from many folks, from numerous locations around the lake..
Here's the Cass County website in reference to the "dog ordinance"
http://www.casscountymi.org/DepartmentsandCourts/AnimalControl/tabid/150/Default.aspx
Here is the letter we've received from a family on our lake, and once again, they are not the only family voicing their concern..
Dear Board Members of Shavehead Lake Association,
We are a family that owns a home on the lake. We always enjoy our time on Shavehead. While we are not currently full-time residents, it is our hope to spend a considerable more amount of time there in future years. We enjoy the beautiful wildlife, the activities on the lake, and our early morning canoe paddles. We also used to enjoy walking around the lake roads. However, it has become increasingly difficult to manage a quiet, non-threatening walk because of dogs whose owners do not heed the current county leash law.
Both my husband and my son, while enjoying a run, have encountered dogs that have chased them, bared their teeth, and acted in a menacing and vicious manner. Now this past week, our 6 year old grand-nephew, while walking with his mother in the early evening, was bitten by an unleashed dog on North Drive. We are angry, disappointed and tired of owners who repeatedly use careless judgment when it concerns their dogs.
Dogs cannot be allowed to run freely off their owner’s property. This clearly violates the county’s leash law and turns an otherwise idyllic setting into a dangerous place. We respect the rights of everyone to enjoy the Shavehead Lake environment and would never dream of infringing in any manner on those rights by purposefully ignoring an important law. It is not enough for dog-owners to believe their dogs won’t hurt anyone, when we know from experience that that is NOT the case.
We respectfully request that you inform all homeowners and renters to be vigilant with regards to their pets. Informing people of the leash law would be a start. We also request that you publish the Animal Control number in future Shavehead Newsletters and on the current website.
Thank you for your consideration,
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This website is for the benefit of all of the residents of our Shavehead Lake community. Courtesy of Mike Bosela -resident, board member and treasurer - Enjoy!
