Saturday, June 24, 2006

14)Shiawassee vet clinics might pay county's fee for kennel inspections.

Shiawassee vet clinics might pay county's fee for kennel inspections.

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Tuesday, May 23, 2006 By Linda Angelo

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY - Veterinary clinics might have to start paying for kennel licenses and annual inspections if the Board of Commissioners decides to enforce an existing ordinance.
The county's animal control ordinance requires all commercial kennels to have licenses, but most veterinary clinics don't have one.
Commissioners will discuss during today's committee of the whole meeting whether they should have the sheriff's department enforce the ordinance or change it to exempt veterinary clinics.
The board also might consider waiving the fee for clinics that distribute dog licenses for the county.
"There is some logic to exempting them," said Commissioner Wayne Roszman, R-Owosso Township. "The treasurer said if we had to sell all the licenses through his office, we would have to employ a full-time person several months of the year when we sell them in large numbers."
The commercial kennel license fee is $25 for more than 10 dogs and $50 for an annual inspection, which would be conducted by the county's animal control.
Veterinarian Wayne Bruinekoll of Clay-Mar Veterinary Clinic in Owosso said animal control should not be in charge of inspections.
"If it's a licensed veterinary clinic, then there needs to be a vet on staff to inspect them," he said.
Veterinarian Craig Hook of Northside Animal Hospital in Owosso questions why veterinary clinics are classified the same as kennels.
"I'm not a kennel; l'm a hospital," he said. "I'm here to house animals in as short of a time as possible, treat them and get them home as opposed to being a boarding facility."
The issue arose after Bennington Township resident Kay Lorraine-Lauro, who operates a kennel on her property, wrote a letter to Sheriff R. Jon Wilson.
"It's a legitimate concern," Wilson said. "If the law says they need to be inspected and have a kennel licenses, either we need to enforce it or they need to be waived."

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