Joe,
I am writing this to you because I am the granddaughter of the landlord that Chef Michael Smith's from Breaktime called out in his post. His rant is far from the truth. My grandfather is an excellent landlord and I wanted you to know the other side of the story since there is one and Chef Mike like a coward posted an non true account of his actions on your site and his facebook looking for sympathy. People like him give landlords all over a bad name because of their irresponsibility and doing things the way they want without regard for anyone else.
My grandfather didn't even know there was a dog in the house until he started getting calls from the neighbors that the dog was jumping the fence and terrorizing everyone in the neighborhood. His lease does state NO pets so already Chef Mike has broken his lease by choice, not my grandfather. My grandfather NEVER gave him permission to have a dog in the first place as he states in the comments. When the neighbors started calling, my grandfather told him he didn't allow dogs and would allow the family to stay but the dog had to go and he would give him a month to find someone to take him. As you can tell no one has volunteered to take the dog because of how he acts and the one person who did take him brought him back immediately to Chef Mike because they couldn't handle him either.
The city of Salisbury does have a leash law so I'm not quite sure why he thinks it's ok for the dog to hop the fence and chase the neighbors or their animals. I found and put a few of these to help those who still see a problem with him allowing the dog to do this and encourage you to look up the laws about vicious dogs and potentially dangerous dogs in the code since they talk about exactly what his dog is doing. The dog should have already been taken from him.
"Section 6.04.070 Running at large prohibited. No custodian or keeper of any dog shall permit such dog to run at large. (Ord. 1709 § 1 (part), " "Section 6.04.140 Impoundment of vicious dog. Any vicious dog having bitten a person or other domestic animal may be impounded by the animal control officer and held until such time as the custodian of said animal has submitted satisfactory evidence to the animal control officer that adequate provisions have been made to protect the public from said animal. (Ord. 1709 § 1 (part), 1999)"
And I'm sorry but he has two small children and a wife. If some strangers pitbull comes running down the street and tries to grab one of those kids or his wife by the 'winter coat' does he think he's going to say, oh it's ok, no one got hurt and they shouldn't have run??? He probably would have tried to kill the dog and the owner right there which would be totally understandable! Or maybe would have chased the dog back home to try to hit it with a shovel. And I'm sure he would have gone straight to the owners house to handle it. And what would he have done if it kept getting out and it was threatening them?
He states that my grandfather is an older man and is afraid of being sued... by who? No one is going to sue my grandfather for his stupid dog chasing and trying to bite everyone. He is lucky the neighbor his dog got a hold of didn't sue him for being bit. And isn't it his job as the pet owner to control HIS dog on a leash when he's not in his own yard? Where in the world do the neighbors have to be scared to go out of their house or down their street? Would anyone else be ok with that and wouldn't someone call the landlord about the trouble that was being caused or anyone else to have the problem corrected?
He has stated my grandfather will not allow him to lock the gates because of needing access to the back yard. The other tenants my grandfather have all have locks on their gates and have been told just like him, if they want the locks, on grass cutting days the gates have to be unlocked since my grandfather cuts their grass. And here's a thought, for this dog who jumps the fence, why in the world would you need to lock a gate or a pesky neighbor to come sneaking over and open it up? He seems to have no problem getting out without any ones help.
I guess he forgot to put in here that he had to leave the last place he rented for the same problem, the dog. It makes you wonder why go through all this trouble for a dog that keeps getting you run out of your homes? My grandfather is tired of dealing with all of this mess especially since none of it from him is true and all he is doing is causing trouble and he is unwilling to do anything about it. It seems like it's the neighbors fault for walking down the street since his dog should be allowed to get out and run around when he wants.
Yes it's nice to see he does all of this stuff for the community but I wonder how they liked being dragged into all this mess on your site especially since they have nothing to do with it. I bet his work isn't happy either. He's throwing a tantrum about something him as a grown man should be responsible about and be trying to fix. Not blaming everyone else for his & his wife's negligence.
I hope this gives another side of the story and even though I don't like the Mayor I'm thankful to see his has made one good call.
Nikki
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
12 comments:
Nikki, Kudos to you for stating the facts with regard to your Grandfather. Clearly your Grandfather is a responsible landlord who stated "NO PETS" in the lease. Animals can be so destructive to a property whether it's a cat or a dog.
Believe me if I would have had been a pit bull that had run after me and "nipping" at me, I would have took off running back into my home as well. This animal is clearly a nuisance.
If it were me, I would kick them out. He violated the terms of the lease.
Yea why not just kick him out then if this is causing too much trouble? And the Mayor really shouldn't be concerned with a dog right now, are we really serious Salisbury?
The neighbors can breathe a sigh of relief as of 10 am this morning the dog is gone.
Mr Smith's article was all poor me the victim, which is always a flag that there is far more to the story. Over kill with the baby picture and trying to blame this on the mayor, hoping the anti Irenton people would flock to his side.
Just someone else who thinks rules don't apply to him
I agree with her response, except for the fact that based on the recent Maryland Court of Appeals decision and the lawsuit that they ruled in favor of, your grandfather being the landlord could be sued, if he knew or allowed a pitbull which the court of appeals has ruled that are "Inheriently Dangerous".
The biggest issue I see here is that if there was a reason to remove this dog city animal control would have done so. There is a panel in the county that are the only ones with the right to deem a dog dangerous. The dog had not even done anything to have to go before this panel. The mayor had no authority to have any animal seized and destroyed so he way over stepped. You all complain about crooked government and too much government control yet this is abuse of power by a politition and you all think that's great. Yes the dog needs some training and socialization to others. This is no reason to kill a dog that is not yet 18 months old. Funny I was at this dogs home he had never met me before and was fine.
Yes, I figured there was another side to this story. It is not fair to the residents of that community that there is a dog running around with aggressive behavior. You could tell from the previous post that Mr. Smith had no concern for his neighbor's feelings or safety.
You can't blame the dogs behavior on the dog...That comes from the owners not giving the dog enough time to train it. Their just like children you need to give them love and attention. If you can't do it don't own an animal. As far as the Landlord if it states in your lease NO PETS..should have taken care of it and moved them out.
11:57 is correct.The neighbors CAN sue the landlord if he knows the dog is there and it hurts someone.On leases that allow pets,there are always breed restrictions.My sister is looking for an apartment now and all the pet friendly ones still have a 50 pound limit and exclude a number of breeds.
That said,I think its a damn shame that everyone is rushing to judgement and calling for "off with the dogs head".He can be trained!
Lastly,since this chef guy never named the landlord publicly ,I found it pretty catty of the granddaughter to mention Chef Smiths workplace.It reeks of intimidation and makes me unsympathetic to the landlords side.
2:41 yes the chef did mention the landlords name in his letter. I know because I immediately went to LandRecs and tried to figure out where this house was located and you need the owners name to do so. That is what "reeks of intimidation" that the chef felt compelled to mention this man's name!
Who cares if the granddaughter mentioned his place of work anyway. This has nothing to do with employment. It's a landlord tennant dispute.
I'm just hoping the dog found a good home because the previous home he had was not responsible since he even admitted the dog escaped atleast twice.
The dog is in a very safe place and will be starting obedience training as soon as he settles in.
The law states a landlord is not responsible for a tenants dog.when a tenant asumes the property they are held liable for dogs pools etc. on said property.
However if a tenant trashes the yard and it piles up....the landlord is responsible.
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