Dog on the roof...no law against it
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on December 31, 2004 2:00 PM
Most people put their dogs out in the yard during the day, but the residents of 104 N. Virginia St. sometimes let their pooch patrol the roof.
The brown and white dog perches on a roof point, acting as a sentry in the neighborhood.
On Thursday, no one was home in the two-story house, which has a "for sale" sign planted in the front yard. The dog on the roof certainly seemed possessive and protective of his exterior penthouse suite.
The city received a complaint from a neighbor who said the dog had been living on the roof for more than five months. The complaint said the dog was fed from the second story window and that it was using the bathroom on the roof.
Animal Control Officer Carey Faulcon said that he has been by the residence several times, but hasn't seen the dog on the roof.
"He doesn't live on the roof," Faulcon said. "He just goes out there from time to time through a side window."
Faulcon also said that that it wasn't illegal for the dog owners to allow the dog on the roof.
"I can talk to them, but there's no law against it," he said. Faulcon also said there was no law against where the dog used the bathroom, but acknowledged that the dog's feces could not be allowed to accumulate on the roof.
"They have to clean it up for sanitation reasons," he said.
According to the city's report, the owner told the animal control officer that the dog wasn't neglected, and that the feces was cleaned off the roof.