Elgin votes councilman's Chihuahua off 'dangerous' dog list
Elgin is getting ready to change how it treats some dangerous dogs — a process that one councilman called “a personal vendetta” by a fellow city council member but a move that his colleagues defended as fair.
Council members approved 7-1 a proposal to allow some dogs to be removed from the city's “dangerous” list. Dogs making the list do so by biting humans or other animals or showing aggressive behavior.
The new rule would allow non-biting dogs to be removed from the list if they comply with the city's requirements and go three years without an incident.
The change is expected to be finalized by the city council later this month.
Among the 24 dogs currently deemed dangerous in Elgin, only two would qualify to be removed from the dangerous list. One of them is a Chihuahua belonging to Councilman Terry Gavin.
Councilman John Prigge, who cast the only “no” vote on Wednesday, charged that Gavin was unhappy that his family dog was put on the list in late 2010. Gavin brought up the topic in April during a discussion initiated by Prigge about revenues from animal fines, and council members agreed to revisit the ordinance.
Gavin didn't participate in the discussion and abstained from voting Wednesday. On Thursday, he called Prigge's “a cheap shot.”
“He made it look like this is being done for two dogs,” he said. “I don't care about the optics, I can take that. But (Prigge's stance) is uncalled for — and it's certainly unprofessional.”
Other council members agreed it's about all dog owners, not just Gavin. “It's unfair to frame this as some kind of personal issue,” Councilman John Steffen said.
Elgin's animal control ordinance was enacted in 2010. “Vicious” dogs all have a history of biting. Gavin said his dog, Daisy, was declared dangerous after it growled at someone and attacked a grocery bag.
Once dogs are labeled dangerous or vicious, their owners are required to comply with several directives. They include making dogs wear muzzles and microchips, getting dog liability insurance and going through dog behavior training. Owners of vicious dogs also must have signs to that effect outside their homes.
The other dog in Elgin that would qualify to be removed from the dangerous list is Tayder, a German Shepherd belonging to Sabrina Young and her boyfriend Erik Hejnosz. The three-year period for Tayder would be up in September 2016.
“That's awesome,” Hejnosz said. “I talked to a lot of people and they had told me he would be on the list forever. This is really good news.”
Prigge contended the current ordinance works just fine, because only two among the 98 dogs that made the list in the past five years have been noncompliant. “(The change) is a threat to safety and it's no good for Elgin,” he said.
Councilman Rich Dunne said, “It's the council's responsibility to look at ordinances to see if there are unintended consequences — and correcting that.”
Councilwoman Tish Powell agreed, and pointed out she understands the importance of dog safety because she was bitten by a dog at a young age.
City staff members reviewed animal control ordinances in other municipalities including Aurora, Waukegan, Evanston, Oak Park, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Naperville, Chicago, Schaumburg and more. Among the ones surveyed, Oak Park appears to be the only one that allows the dangerous dog designation to expire, also after three years.
Gavin said he thought the Elgin ordinance should be amended even further, by creating a board that can evaluate, with expert advice, whether dangerous dogs have been rehabilitated.
He pointed to the case of the Slover family, whose dog was deemed dangerous in 2011. Elizabeth Slover addressed the council Wednesday, saying her dog, which visits a senior center weekly, is a “prime example” that dogs can be rehabilitated.