Attorneys for Stephen and Mary Schreiner have filed a motion with the Jefferson County Circuit Court requesting a preliminary injunction and asking that the city be stopped from enforcing the current vicious dog ordinance, according to court documents
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According to the June ordinance, existing pit bull dogs, or any of their variations, must be registered with the city, no new pits may be brought into the city, and any newborn pit puppies will need to be removed from the city limits within a certain amount of time.
City Manager Ronnie Dixon said 15 to 18 pit bulls have been registered with the city since the ordinance took effect. He said that also since that time, two dogs in the city have been killed by pit bulls and three more injured by pit bulls. He said in one of those five cases, a dog climbed over a fence, and in another a dog was unleashed. He didn’t know the particulars of the other three instances.
Clay City Attorney Alan Summers said at a Clay City Council workshop Monday that there are good and not-so-good parts of the city’s recently approved “vicious dog” ordinance.
Summers said that after reading other cities’ ordinances, talking to attorneys and speaking with veterinarians, he believes a better wording for a section of the ordinance is “all vicious animals,” instead of language that focuses on a specific breed. Summers said a few changes to the ordinance makes “pretty good sense.”
The council made mention of Center Point’s ordinance, a five-year old ordinance that bans pit bulls, and that city not having legal issues with residents in that time.