Community pet laws have some peeved

Pet policies in local communities often force homeowners to make tough decisions. Pet limits have forced some residents to send one pet to live with a relative, while one couple moved from one town to another when faced with hundreds of dollars in fines.

Robert and Phyllis Prindle chose to sell their Carol Stream home in 2005 and move to an unincorporated area of DuPage County rather than give up any of the sick or stranded canines they had taken in.

Under Carol Stream's ordinances, homeowners are allowed to keep a total of three dogs or four cats on their property, with the exception of small puppies. Over five years, the Prindles had taken in a dozen dogs.

Sending any of the dogs to other families or relatives was "absolutely not an option," said Phyllis Prindle, who breeds Chihuahuas and took in dogs facing euthanization.

"How can you say, you're going to go and you're going to stay?" Prindle said. "I have two dogs that are blind and two that have epilepsy, and they are taken care of." Prindle said the village of Carol Stream was issuing fines of $100 a day for about a week. Prindle and her husband, Robert, asked the village for a variance that would allow them to keep 12 small dogs, but were denied.

At the time, village board members said they feared they would have to permit the same variance for any dog owner that came before the board.

"I don't feel like these subdivisions or anyone else has the right to tell you what you can and cannot have in your home. You pay the property taxes, they don't," Prindle said. "If people don't take care of the animals then the police or someone should step in. But if the animals are taken care of and are not a nuisance, then there shouldn't be a problem. "

When Lisa Kosel moved into her Carpentersville townhouse in 2006, she brought with her two Yorkshire terriers, Symon and Dante.

But Kosel soon found out that she would have to give up one of her beloved pets because of the village's strict pet policy, which at the time allowed just one animal per townhome or condominium.

"I would not have moved if I had known of the pet restrictions, but I was told by the seller's agent that there were no restrictions," said Kosel, who sent Symon, now 7, to live with her father in Huntley, while Dante, now 5, stayed.

"I need both of my dogs. It's like giving up my children," Kosel said. "I need them for medical reasons. They keep me active and they help with depression when you live alone."

In a 2007 survey by the Northwest Municipal Conference, a group of 48 cities and villages across the North and Northwest suburbs, 17 of 20 responders said their community restricted the number of animals allowed per household.

McHenry County may soon join their ranks. The county's Animal Control Advisory Committee recently began formal talks on adopting similar restrictions.

"McHenry has gone from an agricultural to an exurbanite society. People are escaping out of the suburbs and want a little more land to do what they want," committee Chairman Ed Varga said. "When those 'do what I want' attitudes overlap, that's where we have problems."

Varga said the county receives about 30 calls a month regarding the number of pets people are permitted.

County officials say their talks are in the very early stages and no decision on whether to install restrictions has been made. As their discussions continue, they will have plenty of examples from surrounding communities to consider.

In Lake County, which like McHenry County has a mix of suburban and rural regions, homeowners in unincorporated lots between a half acre and an acre can have as many as four cats and four dogs.

In Palatine, three animals are allowed. Other communities, like Bloomingdale, set the limit at two pets per home.

But while numbers vary, most officials agree some restrictions are needed for the health of the animals and humans.

"Communities want to make sure they have a reasonable number of animals in the area of where people live," said Kerry Vinkler, executive director of DuPage Animal Care and Control. "Municipalities are looking out for all involved, humans and animals, because we live in proximity, close quarters."

For officials in Mundelein, the issue was the number of animals that either ran away or were abandoned by owners.

"We have to have some sort of limitation in place because we have a lot of strays," said Bob Spear, a community service officer in Mundelein. "The thought was if we limit the number of pets, then we would have less stray dogs and feral cats running around."

In Elgin, city spokeswoman Sue Olafson said, residents are limited to three dogs in single-family homes and two dogs in condominiums or townhouses. There are no restrictions on the number of cats.

"I think dogs typically have been restricted because of size and they have the ability to create more of a public nuisance," Olafson said of the city's 22-year-old ordinance. "The number is a judgment call city officials made."

Limits: Several towns worry about strays