Town To Consider New Dog Laws

North Kingstown dog owners may be faced with some new rules when it comes to the number of dogs they can own. By summer’s end, the North Kingstown Town Council looks to review a new dog ordinance that would cap the number of dogs to three per household. 

According to the town's statistics, 60 households would be affected by this ordinance, with 41 houses with three dogs affected at the lower end and one house with 25 dogs impacted at the other end.

At last night’s Town Council meeting, Town Manager Michael Embury presented information compiled from other Rhode Island cities and towns regarding their dog ordinances. According to his findings, most municipalities limited each household to three dogs. North Kingstown, along with nine other towns (Charlestown, Foster, Hopkinton, Little Compton, Richmond, South Kingstown, Tiverton, West Greenwich and Westerly), currently has no limits on the number of dogs per residence.

Discussion on the topic began after Shermantown Road resident Cindy Hoogasian came before the Town Council to voice her feelings about her neighbors’ noisy dogs. According to animal control officer Liz MacLaughlin, however, doesn’t think the town needs to limit dogs per household, pointing to other methods such as nuisance petitions which could result in fines for owners who do not comply with noise ordinances. According to MacLaughlin, there are currently six canines that have these complaints against them, which last for the lifetime of the animal.

The topic of enforcement was brought up by Town Councilman Charles Brennan, a former officer with the , during Monday’s meeting.

“Everybody who has a dog doesn’t necessarily have a license,” said Brennan. “There can be a lot more houses that are affected by this and the animal control officers are limited by what they can do.”

Though it was , animal shelter and animal control may see slashes next year. During this year’s budget process, Embury suggested closing the shelter to save nearly $120,000.

“I feel we have and if we were going to be cut down in hours, who’s going to be here to enforce the laws?” said MacLaughlin. “The police department would have to, but I think with the level of priorities it might not get done as quickly. If you get out there and the dogs aren’t barking, the owners can’t be fined.”