LIVINGSTON — Inside MT Roots Thrift Store, seven-year-old Murray the dog lounges around and greets customers, but that soon could change.
“We have them (Murray and another dog Marley) here every day and maybe we bring them, you know, just for security reasons or whatnot,” said Murray's owner Callie Carroll on Thursday.
Murray's family is concerned that the city's only animal control officer is targeting him because of the markings he has. Carroll claims that the animal control officer often puts "rottweiler mix" into the tickets she writes for Murrary being off-leash, even though his owners say he is a lab, red heeler and chow mix.
“It was almost as if she would park across the street and wait for him to wander out the door,” Carroll said.
According to documents provided to MTN News by city officials, the current Animal Control Officer has issued the Carroll family six tickets for Murray being off-leash. Since 2018, Murray has accumulated 11 tickets for being off-leash or not being registered to the city. The family has also received two tickets for Murray attacking other dogs.
“Murray had the dog come into his territory, and I don’t want to say territory, he was walking on the street and we were inside of a building, not our store but something a couple of doors down, and the dog had poked his nose in and Murray went after him, protecting his people is the assumption,” Carroll said of the most recent dog bite.
Carroll also said that when her husband spoke with the Animal Control officer, she said something that caused the Carroll family to worry.
“She said, 'Your dog is a nuisance dog. He can no longer be in city limits. I need you to take him out of city limits. He can't be in, and I will do everything in my power to get that dog euthanized',” Carroll said.
The Carrolls' concerns now have a following, with a Facebook page and petition to keep him in the city.
“My husband and I know that he’ll never get to the point of ever letting her get control of our dog to get him euthanized, that we will move away if that’s the case. I mean our family loves him so much,” Carroll said.
Livingston City Manager Grant Gager said it is not up to animal control to determine if a dog will be euthanized.
“If the problem doesn’t go away and the offense becomes more habitual, we do move into tickets," Gager said. "Ultimately, the city judge is the one who is responsible for deciding whether or not a dog is declared vicious.”
He also said all tickets issued are warranted and code enforcement workers don't target individuals.
“Livingston municipal code forbids dogs and other animals from running within certain portions of the city, and certainly in the downtown area,” Gager said.
