Jennie and Alexander Yee say they did not know that Canton had a three-dog limit when they moved to the township late last year with their 5-month-old son, Jacob, and the family’s four dogs.
They learned the hard way after an anonymous complaint prompted an ordinance officer to visit their home and meet four cockaliers — a mix of cocker spaniel and cavalier King Charles spaniel. The dogs are named after cars: Bentley, 4, Shelby, 3, and Beamer and Edge, both 2.
Jennie Yee took her case to the township Board of Trustees last week, asking officials to consider amending the ordinance.
“We’ll certainly review it and keep you posted,” said Supervisor Phil LaJoy.
Yee said Canton police told her the complaint will not be pursued while officials weigh possible changes to the ordinance.
Yee could keep her dogs if she sought a kennel’s license and had more than 2 acres. Yee has collected supportive signatures from several neighbors .
“They’re everything to us,” Yee said of the dogs. “They’re our family.”
She offered to build a privacy fence, pay extra fees, comply with periodic inspections, keep no-bark collars on the dogs and limit their time outside when children are outdoors.
Yee suggested the township should allow four dogs if they weigh less than 25 pounds or so. She said Canton also might consider a grandfather clause for new families who already have four dogs when they move to the community.
Bentley, Shelby, Beamer and Edge all weigh 20 pounds or less.
Yee said all the dogs are licensed and have their shots, and she cleans up after them.
What happens, however, if Yee is forced to decide which dog or dogs have to go?
“I’ll cry,” she said. “I don’t want to think about that.”
~Courtesy of the Detroit Free Press
