Casey Jarmes – The News-Review
KEOTA – On March 1, Keota resident Larry Wulf’s dog was allegedly mauled to death by a pair of vicious dogs owned by neighbor Joel Ackerman. Several witnesses spoke out at the March 3 meeting of the Keota City Council, urging the council to take action against Ackerman. City Administrator Alycia Horras stated that Ackerman had been sent a letter prior to the incident, in September of 2024, telling him the dogs needed to be removed from Keota, due to problems with them running loose and being aggressive.
According to Larry Wulf’s son Lawrence Wulf, Lawrence let his father’s dog Jackson outside, without a leash, to use the bathroom, planning to bring the dog in after a few minutes. Lawrence’s brother stated that Ackerman kept his two dogs chained up outside with the same leash, which ended up breaking. Lawrence stated he came outside after hearing yelping and saw Ackerman’s dogs mauling his father’s dog. Lawrence yelled to get them to stop and the dogs charged at him, forcing him to run back inside. The dogs then dragged Jackson away. Lawrence and his father got into his mother’s car and drove down the street to try and find the dog. They were then attacked by Ackerman’s dogs, who tore up the car’s bumper with their teeth and attempted to jump in the car window. The Wulfs drove away and were chased down the street by the dogs. Lawrence stated that, when he went to confront Ackerman about this, Ackerman was asleep and did not know what was going on. The brother stated that Ackerman grabbed the dogs and drove them out of town after Lawrence called the police, out of fear of the police putting them down.
The brother stated that although Jackson was running loose, he never hurt anyone and got along with everybody. “Jackson’s not just our dog, he’s our family member,” said the brother. “Since my dad retired, he’s been deeply depressed. He hasn’t done a lot. He’s been sitting. That dog’s everything to him. I walk into his house, in five minutes, I can’t stand it because there’s no noise. I was the guy who complained about this dog nagging me to death. I never wanted anything to happen to him. Mr. Ackerman’s remarks is ‘S**t happens.’ Nah bud, your dog broke his leash. He had a one-inch leash tied to two 85-pound dogs…two dogs I understand you have already banned from town. I come to you, not just because it’s our dog, but there’s three, maybe four little children sitting over on that corner. You all know my mom and dad’s street. I see them out there every day. Cold, whatever, they play. They’re good kids. You know why they’re good kids? Because they’re being kids! Nobody’s telling them what to do, they’re having fun, they’re outside…It’s not about a dog, it’s about the safety of the community. These dogs have been a pest before, and Joel keeps harboring them…We the people of this community have nominated each and every one of you to watch out for us. It’s in the best interest. That man has no safety, no concern for you, me, anybody else. If my dad would have got out of that car, he wouldn’t even be here tonight! That dog would have mauled him to death! What the hell do you think Joel would have done? Probably would have packed the dog in the truck and ran off. It’s decency and common respect. I’ll get my dad another dog. But it’s holding the guy accountable, for all the crap he keeps doing, all the crap he keeps pulling.”
The brother also alleged that Ackerman has sex offenders and meth users stay at his home because they are cheap labor. He stated he had been friends with Ackerman for 25 years and that it took him a long time to realize Ackerman had no concern for other people. Lawrence Wulf stated that he had photo evidence of the damage the dogs had done and urged the council to impose thousands of dollars in fines.
“I’ve heard there’s been problems with these dogs before, and not one of you (council members) are willing to impose the maximum sentence,” said Lawrence. “I think it should be imposed today. I am willing to go far and above over this. You guys need to uphold the laws that have been made for this town to the fullest, like you have with me…I expect you guys to do the right thing here. If you don’t, I’m going to go above the city, way above the city. I will take this all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Later in the meeting, Horras showed the council vaccination records for the dogs, which stated they were Staffordshire Terriers, a type of Pit Bull, which are banned in Keota. She stated she had spoken with the city’s legal counsel about moving forward with having Ackerman hand the dogs over and then putting them down. When she said this, Lawrence Wulf began clapping. Horras explained that Iowa law allows cities to fine up to $750 for the first municipal offense and up to $1,000 for repeated offenses. She totaled up a long list of fines, including: $750 for first offense vicious behavior; $1,000 for repeated aggressive behavior; $1,000 for repeated running large; and $1,000 per day for owning the dogs, which eyewitnesses claim have been in town for at least seven days. All of this will be doubled because there are two dogs, plus $1,000 Ackerman was fined back in September, which still has not been paid, for a grand total of $20,500 in potential fines. Horras stated that, if the fines are applied, Ackerman will have 30 days to pay them or have the fines assessed against his property through a special levy process. This would be in addition to the already existing levy on Ackerman’s house due to unpaid utility bills.
Horras stated that it was extremely important for the city to be consistent and enforce dog ordinances for all residents, and that they cannot allow even one resident to keep an illegal dog if they are aware of it. She stated that, if the council allows one person to keep a banned dog, others will request the same. She stated that, in this instance, the dog was vicious and they were well within their rights to take the dog away, but that in the past the council had wavered, something that could get the city sued.
Councilman Mike Bender apologized to the Wulf family for what had happened, stating that this had been an ongoing problem. He stated the council did not know the dogs were back in town and that there isn’t much they can do if they don’t know. He stated he stood behind the fines and would pursue everything they could do.
Councilman Keith Conrad stated that Ackerman has an “inability to be a good neighbor” and a history of harassment, fighting with neighbors, and violating ordinances. He stated that Ackerman thinks of this as a joke and that the city can’t get through to him. Conrad stated that things wouldn’t get better, and that Ackerman would likely just leave the dogs out in the country, allowing them to run back to town again.
“We gave him the opportunity to get them out of town. He blatantly brought them back in town. I fully support anything you have on there,” said Conrad. “Make it hurt.”
“I think it’s the only way we’ll get his attention,” said Horras.
“He’ll laugh about this too,” Conrad said.
Councilman Matt Greiner stated that he didn’t care about the breed and that the biggest thing was that the dogs were vicious. He said that he would get rid of a poodle, if it was vicious, because they can’t have mean dogs in town. Griener stated that the council has to be fair and deal with other dogs that run loose, noting that he personally has had his dogs get out and run loose before. Greiner stated that Ackerman’s dogs need to be found and put down. Councilman Heath McDonald stated that he had seen Facebook posts where Ackerman called his dogs vicious. He stated he agreed that the dogs needed to be gotten rid of and agreed with issuing maximum fines.
Bender warned that the dogs would not be put down overnight and that it would take time for things to go through the courts. Horras stated the first step was for Mayor Tony Cansler to order the dogs be surrendered and euthanized, which would allow her to move forward and work with the Keokuk or Washington County Sheriff Departments to put the dogs down. She stated that, if Ackerman does not surrender the dogs after being ordered to by the court, he could be arrested. Bender noted that it would be a problem to find a place to keep the dogs before euthanizing them. Keokuk County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Clark spoke up, explaining that there are new restrictions on what facilities dogs can be held in before being put down, and that smaller vets can’t upgrade their facilities and thus cannot take dogs. He stated that law enforcement often doesn’t take loose dogs because there is nowhere to put them.
Lawrence Wulf asked what would happen if Ackerman just took the dogs and left. Bender stated he would still need to show evidence they were put down. Greiner stated he was unsure if the council could fine Ackerman for keeping the dogs before the Saturday attack, due to issues with proving he had them. Horras stated eyewitnesses were certain Ackerman had them for at least seven days. She stated that the incidents on Saturday alone were enough for $7,500 in fines. Greiner stated he wasn’t against issuing max fines. Lawrence Wulf stated he was willing to go on the stand and state that he had seen the dogs in Ackerman’s home prior to the attack. He stated Ackerman had bragged about going against city laws and about how vicious his dogs were.
After heavy discussion, Cansler officially ordered Horras to start the process of having Ackerman surrender the dogs so they can be put down. The council voted to have Horras talk to the city attorney about the fees. A resident in attendance asked what would happen if Ackerman got more dogs. Conrad asked if they could have a judge ban him from livestock ownership. Cansler stated that, even if a judge did, Ackerman would likely respond “watch me” and get new dogs anyway. The resident asked if there was any way the council could force Ackerman to leave town.
Also at the Monday meeting, the council discussed inspecting Ackerman’s home for nuisance property violations. McDonald stated that the house has not had running water or sewer for several months and that Ackerman and others still live in the house, against city code. He noted that there are animals in the house, which is neglect if there isn’t running water. Lawrence Wulf claimed that, after Ackerman’s water was shut off, he began driving in large tanks of water from a farm and pumping it into his house.
Greiner stated he was on the fence about an inspection and that they should check with the city attorney to make sure they could. He stated that, if Keota had the legal right to inspect the house, he would support doing so. Conrad stated that pumping in water from an outside source was a huge hygiene issue and violated county sanitation rules. He stated they don’t know if there are any chemicals in this well water, which goes into Keota’s sewers, and that this could result in serious fines. He recommended speaking to the county sanitarian in addition to the city attorney. Cansler stated they could order Ackerman’s water and sewer lines be capped. The council approved allowing Horras to speak with the city attorney about how to proceed.
At the end of the meeting, Cansler stated he felt horrible about what had happened and that the city would do what they could. Larry Wulf requested the city give him proof that the vicious dogs are euthanized, stating he didn’t want kids to be mauled. As the meeting was wrapping up, Horras mentioned that Ackerman had sat in his truck outside city hall for an hour that day, not saying anything.
