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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 Page 4 1 2 Councilmember Randle asked if the owners are currently using a muzzle on the dog. Mr. Socha 3 indicated they were. Councilmember Randle asked how long the muzzle has been used. Mr. 4 Socha stated it has been used since the incident. 5 6 Councilmember Webster thanked the Socha's for submitting such detailed records for the appeal 7 but while she was reviewing the information, she kept thinking about had the two incidents 8 happened to either a child or to someone who is deathly afraid of dogs, might this discussion be 9 tremendously different. She thought that was the piece she had trouble getting out of her head 10 and she appreciated the steps they have taken to put things in place to ensure the dogs safety and 11 she indicated she continues to think about the what ifs. 12 13 Mayor Stille thanked the applicants for their presentation. 14 15 Detective Rushton reviewed his police report regarding the incident with the City Council. 16 17 Mayor Stille thanked Detective Rushton for his report. 18 19 City Manager Casey indicated the City received an email from Andrea Braun at 3741 Foss Road. 20 21 Mayor Stille indicated the Council needed to deliberate this item. He noted the Council had 22 three different choices that could be made, the first being designating this dog as a potentially 23 dangerous dog, in essence bringing this back to where it was before it became a dangerous dog 24 before the last incident. Secondly, the Council can affirm the dangerous dog classification and 25 the third option would be no designation at all, which he did not see as a possibility. He 26 indicated this is a tough one for the Council and no one likes to put a dog down but is a part of 27 what the Council is tasked with. He pointed out that the second victim has come to the defense 28 of the dog. He really believed that the owner has the history and wherewithal and the result to do 29 the right thing. He thought the sincerity has been demonstrated and there have been further 30 precautions with the training and the fence. He acknowledged that this is a difficult thing. 31 32 Councilmember Randle explained he understood where Mayor Stille was coming from but in his 33 mind a bite is a bite, whether it be aggressive or any other kind of bite, the fact of the matter is, 34 people got bit. As Councilmember Webster stated, which he thought about all weekend, what if 35 those had been children and if those were children there would be a different conversation. He 36 did not disagree that the Ordinance is antiquated and needs to be looked at, but the Council still 37 needs to deal with what is before them today. He indicated it is about the children in his mind. 38 With the number of children and traffic up and down Silver Lake Road and even on the Socha's 39 street, that is not a chance he is willing to take. 40 41 Councilmember Walker stated one could argue that perchance there was negligence, prior 42 negligence in terms of after the first bite and so forth but what he is hearing now is that there has 43 been adequate or sufficient steps taken with the muzzle and with that in place, particularly 44 outdoors, that kind of rules out the likelihood of a bite to anyone at that point whether it is a child 45 or an adult. He thought the steps that the Socha's are taking need to be taken into consideration,