Corey Noles photo Sharon Guethle said that having to give up her family's part-Rottweiler, Niki would be like having to give up a member of her family.

The recent proposed ordinance from the Dexter City Council seems to have struck a nerve with several area dog owners.

The ordinance, if approved, would add Dobermans and Rottweilers to the city's vicious dog ordinance. The move would also be amended to include "whether full or mixed-blood."

"I just don't see how [the city] could ask someone to give up their pet," said dog owner Sharon Guethle of Dexter. "Niki has been with us for 10 years. She's part of our family."

Niki, a 10 year-old arthritic Rottweiler, was dropped off in the Guethle's yard when she was just a baby.

"I was mowing the lawn and came over to see her," she said. "We took her in and fed her. Once our son Chris laid eyes on her it was a done deal. She wasn't going anywhere."

Guethle said Niki has never shown any signs of being violent towards either people or other animals.

"Dogs of any breed can be vicious," she said. "It's nonsense to call a dog bad just because of his breed."

If the proposed ordinance is passed, technically, the Guethle's will be required to send away their dog simply because of her breed.

"It's not breed that's the issue, it's how the dog is raised," she said.

Two Aldermen seem to agree with what Guethle has to say.

"There is no way I will support the proposed ordinance in the current form," said Alderman Tim Aslin. "It is simply wrong to include so many breeds, since almost any dog can be trained to become vicious."

Aslin and Aldermen Rick Hux, while both opposed to the measure as it stands, do feel that the Pit Bull provision should be left as is.

"The Pit Bulls, and mixed Pit Bulls, do seem to be aggressive, regardless of how they are raised, and I think they should continue to be banned," Aslin said. "All other dogs should continue to be judged on a case-by-case basis."

"We do need a strong vicious dog ordinance," said Aldermen Hux. "It doesn't need to matter what type of dog we're talking about. If a dog is vicious he should fit into the ordinance."

Hux said his first impression was to include the different breeds, but after rethinking and listening to suggestions of his constituents he has changed his position.

"I just don't see any way to enforce it," he said. "And if this passes, who's to say that several months down the road we won't go through this again with another breed."

Both Hux and Aslin seemed to feel that the ordinance would be fine without the Dobermans and Rottweilers included. Both favored the idea of including the wording about mixed breeds including Pit Bulls.

The public hearing on the issue is tentatively scheduled for the next regular meeting of the Dexter Board of Aldermen on June 18 in the City Municipal Building at 7 p.m.

cnoles@dailystatesman.com