MOUNT GREENWOOD — A measure introduced Wednesday before the City Council would require “owner’s consent for using an electric collar on a dog.”
The ordinance proposed by Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) follows a March 11 incident where a dog owner was surprised to find his German shepherd mix wearing a shock collar at a doggie day care in Mount Greenwood.
O'Shea said late Wednesday his office received several calls in the wake of the incident, and he reached out to Luke Mullaney to speak about his experience with his dog, Mya. These conversations led him to propose the ordinance.
"I don't know what exactly happened, but this is to protect dogs," O'Shea said about the pending legislation.
He expects the new law to be approved at the next City Council meeting May 24. Penalties for breaking the law will include a series of fines followed by revocation of a business license for repeated offenses.
In the March 11 incident, Mullaney picked up Mya at Posh Pet Day Spa at 3514 W. 111th St. after he spent the day working around the house, according to Lauren Mayer, Mullaney's girlfriend.
The rescue dog suffers from anxiety, and the day care seemed like a good way to help her socialize, said Mayer, who had been sending Mya there about twice a week for roughly six months.
In the car outside the day care, Mullaney found Mya wearing a second collar that appeared to be a shock collar. He took a picture of it and immediately confronted the employee who fetched his dog from the back room.
Mullaney later spoke to the day care owner, who he said told him the collar was designed to vibrate, not shock, dogs for barking. But he and Mayer used the pictures of the device to look up the specifics about the collar online.
The collar is designed to curb barking, according to the instructions Mayer posted on Facebook. A series of warning tones are used first. Then if the barking continues, the collar delivers a shock. The collar says it's designed to react only to a dog's specific bark.
Regardless, Mayer said neither she nor Mullaney gave the day care permission to use the collar on their 2½-year-old dog. She turned to social media after finding out about the collar, sharing the details on a popular neighborhood Facebook page.
She included the pictures of the shock collar and a description of the device. Some residents came to the defense of Posh Pet, but others piled on. One dog owner said her dog also once emerged from the back room wearing a shock collar.
"I just want people to know that this is happening," Mayer said.
A message left Wednesday for the owner of Posh Pet was not returned. However in several social media posts, the owner defended the business saying, "we would never do anything to harm an animal."
