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Highlands Today

Dawg House

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Richard Warsack

Published: February 6, 2008

It is amazing to think that one individual could cause so much trouble for individuals trying to provide a much needed service to the community. How could a facility exist for over 15 years without complaints and then have the noise become intolerable after one individual moves into the area?

The complainant was told, at the time he visited the rental property, that a kennel was located nearby. Common sense would have told anyone that there would be barking. If the barking is as bad as the complainant now claims, wouldn't he have heard it while visiting the property? Did the dogs begin to bark just because he moved in? Of course not.

We have visited this facility many times and have never encountered barking so loud that we could not conduct business.

We feel that, not only the article but also the hearings and the way the code enforcement has been handled, has been very biased towards the complainant. How he can claim the opposite is beyond us.

We have attended the hearings and the property owners haven't even been afforded an opportunity to have individuals speak on their behalf. The owners have gone out of their way to try and appease the complainant by making numerous improvements and adjustments. We feel the bottom line is that there is nothing that can be done to please the complainant because it appears he doesn't like dogs and is determined to put the Dawg House out of business.

How much does he, as a renter, contribute to the overall economy of the county as opposed to the business which employs local people? For the county to allow this to happen would be a terrible injustice not only to the owners but to all of us who use the facility. It is comforting to have a facility where we know our pets will receive excellent and loving care.

Also, as dog owners and lovers, we resent the writer using the term "hound" in the article. Our dogs and those of other customers are pets and family members; they are not "hounds."

Richard Warsack
Sebring

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