Dad gets a break in keeping son’s dogs
This case has gotten a lot of media attention in the last few days and there have been many supportive messages in the Fayetteville, NC, area for the man keeping his son’s two dogs while the young man is in Iraq. It sounds like Mr. Carroll has gotten some good news, at least temporarily.
From the Fayetteville Observer.
Dad gets a break in keeping son’s dogs
By Andrew Barksdale
Staff writer
A decision on a man’s fight to harbor five dogs in violation of a Cumberland County rule will have to wait while officials reconsider his situation.
On Thursday, the county Board of Adjustment voted to postpone Henry Carroll’s appeal of a zoning officer’s decision in March that he was violating an ordinance that limits him to three dogs at his residence. When or if the case will return is not known.
Carroll, 45, says he has three dogs of his own and is keeping two more that belong to his 22-year-old son, Adam, a soldier deployed to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division.
Tom Lloyd, the county’s planning and inspections director, said before the meeting that he and his staff will review the ordinance and consider proposing changes that would allow Carroll and others like him to temporarily shelter more than three dogs at a time.
At issue is the county’s definition of a kennel, which is any premises with four or more dogs over 5 months old. The property where Carroll lives in a rented house in Tanglewood Estates near the airport is zoned residential and prohibits kennel operations.
"We are going to look at it," Lloyd said. "I am not saying we are going to change it."
Any change in the ordinance would be reviewed by the Joint Planning Board and would need final adoption by the county commissioners. Lloyd didn’t know how long that process would take.
Some of Carroll’s neighbors, including Richard White, want the ordinance enforced, not changed.
White, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said the problem with the five dogs began soon after Carroll moved into the home in 2005. They bark loudly when they are walked together or left in the yard, he said.
"It’s been irritating since Day One," White said.
According to records provided by county officials, sheriff’s deputies have responded to six noise complaints and two ‘canine problems’ at Carroll’s address since 2007. The reports of loud noise involved barking dogs, records show, although the deputies found no problems when they arrived. Carroll was not cited for noise violations.
When shown a page of the deputy calls, Carroll said, "That’s news to me."
Carroll said he is trying to be a good neighbor. He began letting the dogs outside, two or three at a time, when he first learned in February that he was violating the county’s ordinance. He described the dogs as small breeds that include poodle-dachshund mixes.
After he was ordered to remove two of the dogs in March, he paid a $100 fee and appealed to the Board of Adjustment.
County Attorney Grainger Barrett told the board he wanted the case deferred for two reasons: He wants to review the county’s ability to locate the property owner about the case, and he wants to review kennel regulations by other county departments.
Carroll’s landlord, George Urian, attended the meeting anyway. He told officials he inherited the home after the death of a relative. He supports Carroll’s appeal and dismisses neighbors’ complaints as "a little childish," he said.
"Given the circumstances, I don’t feel it’s unreasonable in the short term to care for two extra dogs until his son returns", Urian said.
Carroll said his son is due to return to the States in December. In the meantime, Carroll will be allowed to keep the five dogs while officials study his case more.
Staff writer Andrew Barksdale can be reached at barksdalea@fayobserver.com or 486-3565.
