Carpentersville trustee: don't regulate number of dogs

One Carpentersville trustee says the village should lift certain limitations on man's best friend.

Freshman Trustee Doug Marks doesn't think the village should eliminate its two-dogs-per-household limit. He raised the issue earlier in this week at a board meeting, and trustees are due to discuss the matter July 19.

The section of the dog ordinance Marks wants to amend now reads: “It is unlawful for any person to keep or harbor more than two dogs over the age of three months upon any property within the village at any one time. The limitations of this section shall not apply to properly established, licensed and zoned veterinary clinics or hospitals, pet shops, pounds, or animal shelters.”

The village, Marks says, should not be in the business of controlling people's lives. He called the restriction one of the “nonsense regulations that we have in town” and has made it his business to question the ones he declares irrelevant, obsolete or unfair.

“Is it an important issue? Absolutely not, but I want to let people know I'm not just looking at one thing,” Marks said.

Earlier this week, at Marks' suggestion, the village agreed it no longer will register dogs and will leave that responsibility to Kane County. That saves dog owners $3 and goes into effect the next fiscal year.

In the end, it doesn't matter how many dogs people own, Marks said. What matters is whether dog owners take care of their pets and ensure they behave.

“It comes down to responsible ownership,” Marks said. “The quantity doesn't even matter.”

Current laws that deal with dangerous dogs, loud dogs and punishment to those who own biting dogs would stay the same.

Even so, resident Humberto Garcia doesn't like the precedent he fears deregulation could set in motion. “If we remove the amount of dogs that you could have in the village at one particular home, I think we will be inviting people that promote dog fights,” said Garcia, who lost to Marks in the village trustee race in the spring but regularly attends board meetings “And that is not good for the village.”

Police Chief Dave Neumann said he would need more information before he could comment on the impact of Marks' proposal.