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From Paget sponsible pet owners responsible while not punishing responsible ones. C.J. Weigel, who lives 3 miles west of Tucumcari, said he has encountered numerous problems with loose dogs, including one inci dent where an aggres sive dog charged at him, his wife and his grand daughter in their own driveway. ‘There are dogs, which have chased me aggressively as I rode a bike five miles from my house along a county road, Weigel said. “I shouldn’t have to worry about my health or the health of my family when we are using pub lic roads.” Many of the residents at the Friday meeting supported an ordinance allowing the Quay County Sheriff's Office to deal with animals that pose immediate threats or are constant nui sances. But they were also concerned that the ordinance would nega tively affect their finances and property rights. Tom Sidwell, a county resident, said he didn’t have a problem with controlling animals infringing on another resident’s rights. But he does have a problem with a proposed limit of four animals, and a requirement to pay $50 for a kennel license if there are more pets. “I have 13 barn cats,” county resident Fred Porter said, “and I can not see the point of pay ing $50 a year for them to keep the mice out of my feed.” John Gilbertson said he too has barn cats to take care of rodents, and the county would be wasting its time trying to prevent a cat from wan dering onto somebody else’s property. “I resent the fact that you want to try and con trol a cat,” Gilbertson said. Christina Fleming, a county resident, said a proposed limit of four dogs or cats older than three months is stricter than city regulations, and without an allowance for visiting animals, she might be susceptible to a misde meanor charge if some body visiting her home brings a pet. County Commissioner Brad Bryant said the ordinance is not designed to target responsible pet owners, but to address those who have presented problems. Sidwell countered that the ordinance doesn’t make distinctions between good pet own ers and bad ones. ‘This commission will not always be in office, and we will eventually have a new sheriff and deputies,” Sidwell said. “Those who fill those offices and positions will have to follow the ordi nance as it is written.” Sue Dowell agreed with Sidwell, noting you can’t just pick and choose when you enforce an ordinance. Bryant said exceptions could be built into the ordinance, but Tenth Judicial District Court Senior Trial Attorney Tom Blakeney said, “One person’s exception is another person’s loop hole.’ The concerns, Curry said, justified the increased public input opportunities a commit tee would provide. “This is a difficult mat ter to try and sort out,” Curry said. “We want and are asking the resi dents for help to design something that will work for everyone.’
Newspaper Details
Quay County Sun
Tucumcari, New Mexico, US
Wed, Sep 12, 2012
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Ashley P.
USA 30 May 2026
Other Publications Near Tucumcari, New Mexico
The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times
The Tucumcari News
Quay County Sun
