From:
labradorbreeders@yahoogroups.com
On
Behalf Of Eleanor Herrick
Sent: March
2007
To:
labradorbreeders@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Yahoo
LabradorBreeders] On Bureaucrats and Dogs] -
Variance Denied, Part
One
In the wake of the town board's
decision not to issue a variance for the number of dogs I have,
I've been preparing for each dog to go to his new home. What
should the dog take with him to help settle in? What do the new
owners need to know about their training and handling? What do
these people need to know about the dogs' individual likes and
dislikes? What their souls are like?
One of the dogs leaving is my
Reno
. Oh my God.
Reno
!
He needs his semi-deflated basket ball. A bumper of course. A cow
femur bone preferably stuffed with peanut butter, but it's fine
plain if that's all there is. He'd like a spot on the couch if
one's available, but he'd never be rude or pushy about it.
He gives 5 with both paws individually and then "10"
with both. After this, he leaps into the air, and then spins one
circle and grabs his tail. He's a very mellow dog by nature, and
this trick just cracks him up. It's his only one.
He barks three barks to let you know someone's arrived, and then
quiets.
Other than that, he never makes a noise. His obedience is
terrific, on or off leash. His manners are terrific. He has the
temperament of an angel. He passed his Canine Good Citizen /
Therapy Dog International test as a walk in. He leaves and go lays
down when you eat, although he's happy to help you out with the
leftovers if invited. He looks sad when you give him a bath or
trim his nails, but he always cooperates.
Reno
*always* cooperates.
He is wonderful with anyone he meets, human or animal. Any age,
any temperament. He used to go to work with me at the assisted
living facility. There was an old crotchety man who would only
take his meds and come out for meals in exchange for being able to
take
Reno
for a walk and throw a few bumpers for him. The only time I ever
saw this man let his guard down or his expression soften was when
he was with
Reno
. He'd been a hunter when he was younger. I guess the dog took him
back to better days.
Reno
loves to ride in the car. He makes the most wonderful face if you
ask him about "The Bird." He likes to "tunnel"
through your legs, and stop in position to get scratched above the
base of his tail. His back feet march in place as he does this. He
likes to be scratched behind the ears, too.
On the day he passed the final series of tests needed for the
American Kennel Club to award him the title Companion Dog, he was
mounted by another male dog who had gotten up during the exercise
known as the three minute down. Not only did
Reno
not get up from his down, but he looked at me across the ring and
wagged his tail as if to say, "See? I am a GOOD boy."
Yes,
Reno
. You're a VERY good boy.
God help me next Wednesday when he's taken out of here!
Eleanor Herrick
Holmen
,
WI
First,
thank you all for your support. Those long term friends of
both
Reno
's and mine, and those I've gotten to know by email, and
some I hadn't even met yet. I appreciate you guys so very
much. I have lots of private emails to answer, but I wanted
to post this history, because I realize I dropped the story
kind of out of the blue, and a bit of an update:
The short version is that I moved here in Nov '05 to take
care of my mother during some nasty chemo and a bone marrow
transplant. The cancer came back suddenly, time was of the
essence, and I had two weeks from the time of diagnosis to
the time I arrived here. There weren't dog limit laws where
I came from, and I just never thought about it. Truthfully,
given the stress and chaos at the time, and the very short
time frame I had work with, it probably wouldn't have made
any difference. There were complications, and what was
planned to be a finite stay has become a long term one.
This town allows 2 dogs per household, and my mother has
one. I came with 6 of my own and a foster dog.
At any rate, thank you for the kind words about Reno. He's very special to me, always has been. I had a bit of
the blues going when I wrote that piece.
Today, the blues are gone, and I'm just mad as heck and not
going to take it any more. This stinks, and for me to roll
over and play dead is very un-Eleanor like. The pity party
is over. There are legal precedents for fighting dog laws.
There are currently 8 homes in this town that have variances
for the number of dogs allowed. There are rules against
being mean to senior citizens with cancer. ;-) I am going to
appeal, I'm going to milk public sympathy for all it's
worth, and I'm going to fight hard, and I'm going to fight
dirty if need be. I may eventually lose anyway, but if I go
down with the ship, I'm going to make sure their boats take
some hits in the process. I know that the dog ordinance here
is being reviewed for possible revision. I will be on that
committee!
I've arranged for temporary shelter in a place with a
commercial kennel license. No limit to the number of dogs I
can have there, and it's literally 5 minutes away if my mom
needs help.
They will NOT take my dogs.
Reno
just gave me Five.
http://sanityshome.
blogspot.
com/2007/
03/holmen-
wisconsin.
html I have pro-trainer friends putting this on whatever
web presence they have all over the country.
If anyone else will put Reno's story on their blog or website, it will greatly benefit
not only me personally, but thousands of others who are
either facing this situation or living in fear that they
some day will.
I guess there's a political activist inside us all.
Eleanor Herrick
Holmen
,
WI
The
Retriever Training Forum has suggested a letter
writing campaign. The more it is brought to the
Board's attention that this little town is under
national scrutiny, and not in a very favorable light,
the better, as far as I'm concerned.
If anyone has time and could send a letter, it would
be much appreciated.
Mr. George Hammes and members of the Town Board
W7937 County Rd MH
Holmen,
WI
54636
Thank you,
Eleanor Herrick
Holmen,
WI
See
Reno
's story at
http://sanityshome.
blogspot.
com/2007/
03/holmen-
wisconsin.
html#links
__._,_.___
Reno
Variance Denied, Part 4
Hi all,
My local, weekly paper carried the article about my
battle with the town for a variance on our dog
ordinance. So many of you have already taken the
time to send emails and post to blogs on my behalf, but
this is the one that ultimately carries the most
weight.
If you have the time and inclination, could you please
post some thoughts on responsible dog ownership
versus arbitrary numbers?
http://www.holmenco
< http://www.holmencourier.com/news/00lead.txt>
Also, if you originally forwarded the story, could you
also forward this request to those same people? The more
I can keep it in the front of
consciousness of my neighbors, elected officials, and
our local media, the better chance I have of winning my
personal battle as well as the greater war.
Thanks so much,
Eleanor Herrick
Holmen, WI
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