County Removes Vicious Dogs Policy

After about a year of discussions on the topic, and with a case making its way through the court, the Bourbon County Commission decided Tuesday to just do away with the vicious dogs policy that had been written in 1987.

County Commission

The commissioners, along with members of the Sheriff’s Office and county attorney Justin Meeks, determined that even updating the policy to better define a vicious dog would not solve the problem since the county does not have the employees to enforce it.

“If you don’t enforce a policy, why have it?” Meeks asked.

Under the previous policy, it was left to the sheriff’s deputies to answer calls concerning vicious dogs, but that department does not have the manpower or the equipment to respond to such calls or handle the animals, even if they are able to catch them.

Undersheriff Ben Cole said even having a deputy focus full-time on vicious dog calls would not be sufficient, and would also be expensive due to the deputy’s wages, a kennel and other equipment and mileage from traveling through the county. He added it is up to the county to prioritize what they want to accomplish and devote county funds to.

By dissolving the policy, circumstances involving vicious dogs become a civil issue. Pit bulls are also no longer banned in the county, though Meeks pointed out some homeowners’ insurance policies have their own restrictions on owning such dogs.

7 thoughts on “County Removes Vicious Dogs Policy”

  1. “If you don’t enforce a policy, why have it?” ………Using that logic, why don’t they legalize methamphetamine? This county has a horrible drug problem, yet just about everybody can tell you exactly who’s selling drugs and it seems to just be ignored by the local police…….. Law abiding citizens pay taxes so that laws are enforced. This FAILURE should result in some type of refund to the taxpayer, shouldn’t it?

  2. I understood the reasoning was that the vicious dog policy was vague which made it nearly impossible to enforce and the cost of doing DNA tests to tell what type of breed a dog exceeded the benefits to the citizens of the county.

    1. Bob, I think that is the story we were all told, but I think we just got told the truth…….It’s a man-power problem, which really means its a money problem………Luckily we don’t have vicious dogs running all over the streets, or at least I haven’t seen them…..Perhaps the city could hire 3 or 4 part-time, minimum wage people to respond to animal control issues……or better yet, build a new animal control facility along side the shiny new jail and put some prisoners to work cleaning up dog crap all day……

      1. As far as I know, if you want to charge someone with having an outlawed type of dog (pitbull for example) you are going to have to prove it is a pitbull. The only way I know to do this would be to do a DNA test. The cheapest canine DNA test I’ve seen is $60. I’m happy to see the county put money and effort into other things than DNA testing dogs.

      2. Everything said is pertaining to the vicious dog policy. That is what is at hand. To some, this helps them keep their four legged family members. For example, I had a friend that moved to bourbon county with a very sweet pitbul, after two months an officer showed up at their door giving them the ultimatum of finding a home for the dog outside of the county, or they’re taking her to kill her. Now that we don’t have officers wasting their time on nonviolent dogs, maybe they can funnel their work into something productive.

  3. “Concerned”, are you offering your time to hunt these “fugitive” animals? After all if you volunteered your time, you would be a lot more in the know of things. Also if you, yourself know names of drug dealers are you working with law enforcement to incarcerate these people? I didn’t think so. I can say I honestly have no idea who manufactures, distributes or purchases drugs in our town, maybe I live under a rock or maybe you need a better circle of friends. It is judgemental people such as yourself that cause a breakdown in a community such as this. It is easy to set back and judge or say “what should be done…”. I for one, am glad to see these changes come to bourbon county. Our law enforcement work hard to keep our community safe and should be praised! Shame on you “concerned”!

    1. “Put up or shut up”…..If you actually read my comment you’d see that I suggested using labor of the scumbags that will be residents of our shiny new jail to handle animal control. Sorry if that seems to logical for you.
      So you want me to hunt “fugitive animals” now that the policy has been disbanded? Should I let the horses out of the barn that already burned down too?
      I’d suggest you come out from under your rock (no offense) This is a very small town, a town where everyone you talk to is related to everyone else. That’s one of the charming things about the small towns. You can’t do much around here without everybody knowing. I personally do NOT know who these drug dealers are, but I can point to many houses that people have warned me to avoid because they are “drug houses”….YES I have reported several crimes to law enforcement, who have done their best, but “knowing” is not the same as “proving” in court. I have actually been told directly from our law enforcement that they know who the tweekers are, they just can’t prove it. The town has accepted it……just as they’ve accepted all the fatherless babies left behind after the college football team leaves town, just as so many young women in town have accepted their men are always in and out of jail, just as the town has accepted “Good Ol Days” turning into “Welfare Days”…….You can go ahead and hate me now, but if you’re honest with yourself you know there is way too much truth to what I just dropped on you…..

      You want me to fix the town? I’d be glad to, but there wouldn’t be much left after I bulldoze over all the falling down houses 🙁 It’s so sad to see a beautifully restored Victorian home, surrounded by shacks that are ready to be swallowed up by the earth. it doesn’t cost any money to clean the trash off your porch. I do my part, my lawn is maintained, my house painted, my kids fed, my car insured (more than many around here can say)……. Let’s face it, it only takes a few bad apples to bring a place down, but those apples are easy to find, all you have to do is look for them. Cleaning up crime is the job of city/county leaders, as a private citizen I can only keep my home clean, pay my taxes, and report crimes to the professionals……….

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