Updated: 9/14/2009 7:32:04 PM
Hamblen County's dog barking ordinance has residents looking to commissioners for help. More than 30 people turned out to Monday's meeting to tell leaders the current law doesn't have enough teeth.
"Until you guys do something and put some stiff punishment behind what you do, then people are just going to continue to ignore it," Sandy Watson of Russellville said.
Watson and others claim the county isn't doing enough to enforce the law already on the books.
Dogs that bark for more than 10 minutes between the hours of 11 PM and 7 AM can be issued an anti-barking collar. If the problem persists, the owners can be cited.
But not everyone agrees on the effectiveness of the collars.
"I can put that dog, I can knock him out with it. The electricity is so strong, that dog ain't gonna quit barking," said one member of the crowd.
County officials admit the law is tough to enforce.
"It's just extremely time consuming and difficult to draft good rules and then enforce them in the court," Hamblen County Attorney Rusty Cantwell said.
After hearing from a dozen residents in a two-hour discussion, the sheriff agreed to talk to the county's judges. He hopes to speed up current cases that are slow in moving through the courts.
"No one has had to pay out any money yet. Until you start fining people and it costs them money, it's hard to get their attention," Sheriff Esco Jarnagin said.
The Hamblen County Commission plans to hold a special meeting on the issue sometime before its regularly scheduled meeting in October. A date has not yet been set.
