I live a block away from the old police station, and they have
the dog kennels there.
“I live a block away from the old police station, and they have the dog kennels there. I know it is a good deed keeping the dogs out of the street and that is the way they have to do it, but these dogs bark all night, every night, nonstop. I can’t sleep because I feel kind of bad for the dogs and they are so loud. Maybe they would like a little nicer setting like a ranch or a bigger yard.”
Red Phone: Dear Catch-22, We’re not sure if having their own ranch would be too practical unless the police were some how able to put the dogs to work to make them earn their keep. Maybe they could rent them out to ranchers to help roundup rowdy horses. Or they could attach them with a GPS and put them under house arrest, making them promise not to leave the state. Usually in a case where people have problems with dogs barking, they can call the police, and they will go out there and cite them. But the police can’t really do that here.
The Gilroy Police Department recently remodeled the kennels to add an exterior building and give the dogs more space.
“This building allows us to house more animals, is easier to sanitize, preventing cross-contamination among animals, is more secure, and hopefully will dampen the sound of any barking dogs,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Wes Stanford.
The city has looked at options for housing its canine guests, including using some private kennels, both in the city and in the country, he said.
“Since the health history of contained animals is unknown, they must be totally segregated from other dogs when placed in a private facility, adding to the cost,” Stanford said. “Eventually, the best option was to remodel and improve the facilities we already possessed. We try to make the dogs as comfortable as possible when they are in our care, hopefully reducing their anxiety and therefore the barking – in a best case scenario. With the current budget allotted to the Police Department for Animal Control, we are doing the best we can.”
Tickets are too steep
“The city must be desperate for income! We have been living in a cul-de-sac in Gilroy for more than 30 years now. As everyone knows, there is limited parking in a cul-de-sac. We have always parked our cars two up on the driveway so to have more parking on the street for others. We just got a ticket today for parking on the sidewalk. None of the neighbors have ever complained about our parking, in fact some do the same thing so others can park on the street. $40 for the ticket is just too steep for us retired folks!”
Red Phone: Dear Sidewalk Parker, We’re sorry to hear that you were ticketed, especially for something you’ve grown accustomed to doing in limited spaced. But regardless of whether you’ve been ticketed before, it is still a parking violation.
“By blocking the sidewalk when parked, the driver forces pedestrians to move into the traffic lanes and then back onto the sidewalk, which can create safety issues for the pedestrians,” Stanford said.
People are welcome to protest the citation by following the rules on the back of the ticket. They should include any “pertinent evidence to bolster their position, such as diagrams, photos and a narrative covering the circumstances the cited person believes relieves them of responsibility for the violation,” Stanford said.
“Our designated hearing officer will review the case and decide whether to dismiss the parking citation or not, and the cited person is notified by mail of the outcome,” he said.
