By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review<\/p>\n
SIGOURNEY \u2013On Sept. 10, a dog owned by Sigourney couple Larry and Shannon Stevens attacked and killed a dog owned by their neighbors, Steve and Staci Shettler. After a lengthy discussion during the Sept. 16 meeting of the Sigourney City Council, the council voted 4-2 to deem the dog dangerous and order the Stevenses to get rid of it.<\/p>\n
Steve Shettler was the first person to talk to the council about the dog incident. He read off a letter he had sent into the city, recounting the incident. Steve explained that, at approximately 3:50 p.m., he was walking his two small older dogs on the west side of his property. The Shettler house is located on Spring Street, near the park. The Stevens family lives just to the west of them. Steve claimed that the Stevens\u2019 dog, six-year-old labradoodle Burnt Chicken Nugget, came \u201ccharging\u201d around the house and attacked the Shettler\u2019s 13-year-old dog Stella. Steve claimed that Nugget bit Stella on the right side of her head, lifted her off the ground, and shook her. This left two visible puncture wounds. Shettler stated that Stella deteriorated over the next several hours and died as they were pulling into the Keota Veterinary Clinic. He stated that an autopsy determined that Stella had died from internal bleeding after being jostled around.<\/p>\n
Steve claimed that this wasn\u2019t the first time Nugget charged his dogs and that the dog had repeatedly went onto his property in the past. He stated that Nugget had attacked his other dog, in a similar fashion, previously, but that that attack hadn\u2019t left lasting marks. He noted that the Stevenses do have a buried shock collar electric fence and stated that he didn\u2019t know if the fence had been turned off or if the shock collar was broken. Steve stated that his wife was more forgiving and willing to let Nugget stay, if a fence or kennel was put up, but stated that he did not feel his dogs were safe with Nugget in the neighborhood. He noted that they lived on a busy street that leads to the park, pool and ballfields. Steve criticized Shannon for a now-deleted Facebook post, where she called Nugget \u201cthe sweetest dog,\u201d saying it felt like a slap in the face. He stated that he had enjoyed the Stevenses as neighbors and stated he hoped this could continue, but that he wanted their dog removed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving Stella for 14 years, she\u2019s a family member to us. If you\u2019re a dog person, you probably understand that more than if you\u2019re not,” Steve stated.<\/p>\n
Staci Shettler also read off a letter she had written, which was sent to the city after her husband\u2019s letter, asking to rescind the request to remove the dog, if the Stevenses build a fence or kennel to keep Nugget contained. She stated that this was a heartbreaking situation and that the Stevenses were good neighbors, but that she was concerned for the safety of animals or, God forbid, a child. She stated that a scared dog was a reactive dog and that Nugget had barked as long as he lived there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking, because I can\u2019t imagine if it was my dog being asked to be removed,\u201d Staci said, beginning to cry halfway through the sentence.<\/p>\n
The Stevenses spoke next, showing the council a PowerPoint labeled \u201cStevens v. City of Sigourney,\u201d which contained photos of their dog. Larry Stevens stated that he was deeply sorry about what had happened and apologized for the Facebook post. Shannon Stevens stated that part of the contention was due to confusion about where the property line sits. The slideshow claimed that Steve Shettler frequently mows into the Stevens\u2019 yard and frequently walks his dogs over the line.<\/p>\n
Larry Stevens stated that he was working in front of the house when the incident occurred and doesn\u2019t know exactly where it happened. He stated that Steve is the only one who was there and knows if the event happened over the property line. He stated that it\u2019s possible that Nugget had crossed the line in the past when the battery in his collar was dead or removed, but that the Shettlers had never brought this to their attention. Larry stated that, as good neighbors, he thought they would have been told if their dog was in the Shettler\u2019s yard. He stated that Nugget typically doesn\u2019t cross the fence and that he\u2019d never seen him go into the park.<\/p>\n
Larry stated that, in regards to neighbors living in fear, other neighborhood children frequently come over and play with Nugget. He showed a video of the dog being petted by two neighbor girls, the day after the incident, with the dog acting gentle. The slideshow claimed that Nugget is typically not aggressive, is skittish around other dogs, and is scared of people he isn\u2019t used to. It stated that Nugget will cower when yelled at and will NOT (capitalized by the PowerPoint) attack people. Shannon Stevens stated that Nugget does bark at neighbor dogs, which isn\u2019t ideal, but is something most dogs do. She stated that anyone in town will say that they haven\u2019t seen the dog act aggressive. She stated she believed this was a territory thing, that she didn\u2019t know why this happened, and that this wasn\u2019t in Nugget\u2019s nature. Steve Shettler interjected, stating that anyone else could bring their dog up to the property line and see what happened.<\/p>\n
The slideshow noted that the Shettler\u2019s dog was old and sick and claimed that Larry hadn\u2019t seen any injuries on her. It stated that the Shettlers were the only people who have issues with the dog. These points were not read out loud by the Stevenses.<\/p>\n
Larry stated that, to his knowledge, Nugget had never been loose around town and that, if he does cross the line, he always comes back quickly. He stated he was willing to put up a fence. Stevens stated that he and his wife would be moving, to another neighborhood in Sigourney if the council let them keep their dog, and to another town if the council ordered them to get rid of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how much we love our dog, and we aren\u2019t giving it up that easily,\u201d Larry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we truly thought he was a menace or harm, we would do the right thing, but we honestly do not, at all,\u201d Shannon added.<\/p>\n
The Stevenses stated that they did want to remain active members in the community. Councilman Ed Conrad asked if they disagreed with the claim that their dog bit the Shettler\u2019s dog. Shannon stated that she didn\u2019t see it happen and didn\u2019t know. Councilman Adam Clark stated that they weren\u2019t calling Steve a liar and that it wasn\u2019t in question that their dog killed the Shettlers’ dog. Conrad stated they should stick with saying that Nugget bit Stella and not worry about the potential connection to the dog\u2019s death. Clark pointed out the autopsy results.<\/p>\n
Clark stated that the public safety committee had discussed the incident the previous night and that, based on the city\u2019s ordinances, Nugget clearly classified as an animal nuisance. He said the question was if the dog classifies as a dangerous animal. City ordinances define an animal as a nuisance if it “causes a disturbance by excessive barking or other noise making or chases vehicles, or molests, attacks or interferes with persons or other domestic animals.” The penalty for having a nuisance animal is a $50 fee for the first offense, $75 for the second offense, and $100 for each subsequent offense. To contrast, an animal is defined as dangerous if it is “declared to be dangerous by the City Council.” Animals declared to be dangerous are prohibited from being kept within city limits.<\/p>\n
Clark stated that the ordinances say nothing about the location where an incident occurs. He stated that this was a tough situation. Conrad stated that it was between neighbors, who might move out of town depending on the council\u2019s decision. Clark stated that, in his mind, that decision isn\u2019t on the council, and that they shouldn\u2019t make their decision about the dog based on the potential of the Stevenses moving. Conrad stated he agreed, but that their decision would be perceived as either siding with the Shettlers or the Stevenses. Conrad stated he wouldn\u2019t argue the dog was tame or gentle, and that he was concerned what control the Stevenses had when the collar batteries were worn down, or when they were in the front yard while the dog was in the back, or if the collar didn\u2019t go off.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Stephanie Lentz asked if they should discuss requiring a fence. Clark stated that requiring fences wasn\u2019t in the ordinances and that they couldn\u2019t make a decision contingent on a fence being put up. Conrad stated that, if the dog is found to be dangerous, the Stevenses could argue against this decision in court and would be given time to move the dog out of town.<\/p>\n
Clark noted that they had changed the city\u2019s vicious animal ordinances last year, due to multiple incidents where dogs attacked people, to make the ordinances clearly say what consequences would occur in different situations. However, these ordinances did not mention attacks on domestic animals. Clark stated that they could change the ordinances in the future to include clear consequences for attacks on domestic animals. Councilman Gary Iosbaker agreed they could, but noted that, the way it was written, the vicious animal ordinace only applied to bites on people.<\/p>\n
Councilman Randy Schultz stated that the Shettlers couldn\u2019t rescind a written request after it had been sent to the city. Clark asked if the city would be liable if another incident happened, given that they knew about the problem. Iosbaker stated he wasn\u2019t a lawyer, but believed the city would be liable. Councilwoman Connie McLaughlin stated she\u2019d hate for her grandchildren\u2019s dog to be attacked while she was walking it, and that this would be traumatic for her grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Iosbaker stated that this was a really difficult situation that he didn\u2019t like, but that they were obligated to enforce the ordinances as written. Schultz stated that he didn\u2019t favor rewriting the ordinances last year, because of situations outside of the ordinance\u2019s outline like this. Schultz stated that there was nothing more awkward than this decision, and that it was going to make someone unhappy, but that it boiled down to safety. He stated that everybody who had ever come to a council meeting over a dog problem said the same thing, that their dog was well-behaved 99.9% of the time. He stated that this was about the other 0.1% of the time.<\/p>\n
Mayor Jimmy Morlan stated that, every time this kind of thing had happened in the time he\u2019d been with the city, the decision had been to do what was written. He stated that, if they make an exception for one person, then they wouldn\u2019t be able to make a decision the next time. Morlan stated they had to be consistent. He stated his heart went out to the Stevenses, because he has two dogs, but that he \u201ccertainly wouldn\u2019t walk them past (the Stevens\u2019) house at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conrad stated that, even if they didn\u2019t find the dog dangerous, they could still cite the Stevenses for having a nuisance dog. McLaughlin stated they had to be consistent. Clark motioned to declare the dog dangerous and give the Stevenses 14 days to remove it from town. McLaughlin seconded. McLaughlin, Clark and Schultz voted to remove the dog. Lentz voted against removing the dog. Conrad hesitated for ten seconds, before voting No. Iosbaker hesitated for ten seconds, before voting Yes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Morlan said. \u201cI\u2019m with you, our dogs are like kids.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review SIGOURNEY \u2013On Sept. 10, a dog owned by Sigourney couple Larry and Shannon Stevens attacked and killed a dog owned by their neighbors, Steve and Staci Shettler. After a lengthy discussion during the Sept. 16 meeting of the Sigourney City Council, the council voted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18192,"featured_media":2259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news",""],"yoast_head":"\n