Rockford City Council members delay vote that would limit how many dogs you can own

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Aldermen on Monday delayed a vote on a proposal to limit the number of dogs allowed per household from four to three, deciding instead to take more time to study the issue.

The city’s Code and Regulation Committee voted 5-0 to table the matter after roughly a half hour of discussion. Aldermen against the measure said they were in favor of components of the proposal that could strengthen enforcement of health and safety standards, but they didn’t agree with reducing the total number of dogs.

The matter was delayed so city legal staff and aldermen could explore the possibility of adopting the three-dog limit with the condition that owners could petition for the ability to have four. That suggestion was made by Alderman Chad Tuneberg.

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The original proposal was put forward by Alderman Mark Bonne, a Democrat who represents the 14th Ward, after a dog in his ward was killed by three others while its owners left the dogs unattended for a long mid-October weekend.

“Literally this fourth dog was eaten alive,” Bonne said during the committee meeting. “It took place over the course of an hour. The dog was dead before Animal Services arrived on the scene.”

Under Bonne’s proposal, any household that already has four dogs would be grandfathered in, provided the dogs are properly registered with Winnebago County within 90 days of the ordinance being approved. When one of the four dogs in a home that’s grandfathered in dies, the household would only be allowed three dogs going forward.

“I wouldn’t want to have to live next door or behind these people where this attack occurred,” Bonne said. “Unfortunately, there will probably always be irresponsible pet owners, but logic dictates that fewer dogs per household should eventually result in fewer problems.”

City legal staff said the proposed changes also give Winnebago County Animal Services authority to impound animals that are not being kept in healthy or sanitary conditions.

“We get a lot of complaints, especially in the summertime, with dogs being held in tight spaces or chained for a long time or you have feces in horrible spots,” City Attorney Nick Meyer said. “Right now our Animal Services, by virtue of our contract, it’s difficult to enforce that. So there are some provisions here that would allow them to expand that.”

Stephanie Hicks, the executive director of CARE for PETS, said during public comment before the meeting that the proposal could increase the number of dogs being held at Winnebago County Animal Services’ shelter and it could lead to increased euthanasia of healthy dogs.

“It’s like taking a hatchet where we actually need a scalpel,” she said of the proposal.

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Alderman Bill Rose, who is not a member of the committee, said the problem is with irresponsible owners, not the number of dogs at a household.

“We have to be cautious when single incidents or things like these come around that we try not to apply the exception of the rule to everyone else,” Rose said. “I think most people who own three or four dogs are probably really good dog owners, otherwise they probably wouldn’t be owning three or four dogs.”

Alderman Tim Durkee agreed with Rose’s sentiments.

“When there’s an animal problem, at the root, the root cause of it is a people problem,” Durkee said. “If there’s anything we want to do it’s perhaps beef up our ordinance against negligent owners who mistreat their animals or are cruel to their animals.”

The Code and Regulation Committee meets next on March 25, when members could again address the proposal.

Dogs per household

Here’s a look at how many dogs are allowed per household in nearby communities and similarly sized cities in Illinois.

Source: City of Rockford legal department

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas