A new measure aimed at preventing cruelty toward and neglect of domestic animals now awaits action by the Deltona City Commission.
If enacted, the ordinance would require pet owners to keep their animals comfortable during periods of very hot or very cold weather, as well as making certain they have adequate food, clean drinking water, sanitary surroundings and sufficient space to move about.
“I’m all for protecting animals, … but are you going to be able to enforce this?” City Commissioner Jody Lee Storozuk asked Deltona Code Compliance Director Danny Ron.
“Yes,” Ron replied.
The new draft ordinance on animal care has the nickname “Barack’s law.” It was so named because of a dog kept in allegedly inhumane conditions at a home in the southeast section of Deltona for about two years. Despite complaints and calls to City Hall, the confined neglect of Barack, a bulldog mix, persisted as authorities said they lacked a legal basis to intervene. Barack has since been relocated outside Deltona, according to people who say they monitored his condition — including being left outside in the worst of summer and winter weather — and worked to provide better treatment for him.
Deltona’s pending ordinance sets new safety and comfort standards for the owners of “dogs, cats and small domestic animals.”
“When the temperature falls below forty (40) degrees Fahrenheit, all cats, small domestic animals and those animals that cannot tolerate such temperatures without stress or discomfort (i.e., short-haired breeds, sick, aged, young or infirm), must be moved indoors or provided adequate heating to maintain temperature above forty (40) degrees Fahrenheit range. When the temperature rises above eighty-five (85) degrees Fahrenheit all dogs, cats, and small domestic animals must be provided air conditioning, a fan, or another cooling source to maintain the temperature in the shelter at or below eight-five [sic] (85) degrees Fahrenheit,” the ordinance reads.
The new regulations, if they become law in Deltona, may move some people to give up their pets, and that may result in overcrowding of animal pounds.
Moreover, the proposed law requires owners of animals to shield them “from the direct rays of the sun and the direct effect of wind and rain,” and to “[p]rovide protection from the elements at all times.” Not least, the owners must make certain the animals have “a soldier roof,” “clean, dry bedding materials,” and “sufficient space to comfortably stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around in the shelter.”
Additional responsibilities for the owners of animals include “appropriate daily exercise,” “clean water, dry ground,” and protection from “winds in excess of 20 miles per hour and other natural manmade calamities.”
As for enforcement, Volusia County Sheriff’s Lt. Frank Mills said he and his colleagues are limited in entering private premises where a violation may exist.
“If that animal is in a backyard, or especially if it’s in a fence in a backyard, they have a right to privacy in a backyard,” Mills explained. “Tentatively, a search and seizure if we were to go in there and test for that temperature inside that confinement that the animal is in — so we would not have a right to do that, unless you had some sort of a court order, which for a misdemeanor doesn’t generally happen, unless in the case you can show the reason behind it is some sort of felony crime of animal cruelty or something of that nature.”
Mills went on to note that his agency is limited in its enforcement authority because the city has no interlocal agreement with the Sheriff’s Office to enable deputies to enforce Deltona’s codes and ordinances. Rather, the Sheriff’s Office now enforces state laws, as opposed to local ones.
Storozuk, however, wondered aloud how the proposed ordinance will be applied.
“What about all the wild cats around the city?” he asked. “If it’s 85, do we pick them up? … This opens a can of worms that can off in different directions. … Where does it stop? Where does it end?”
“This is indeed a slippery slope,” Commissioner Tom Burbank said.
Enforcement is slow, said City Attorney Marsha Segal-George.
“We have to go through a process,” she told the City Commission. “These cases get very complicated now.”
Segal-George added one case stretched out over three weeks before code officers could remove a dog from its owner’s custody.
“It [a dog] is the property of the owner,” Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. said.
“I just want to make sure we’re not stepping on people’s rights,” he added.
Despite reservations and questions about enforcement, the City Commission reached a consensus in favor of moving the measure to its Nov. 6 meeting for its first public hearing and possible action.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Deltona City Hall, 2345 Providence Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story included a misattributed quote. The quote has been removed.