Under New Town Ordinance, Minn. Family May Have To Part With Dogs

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The mayor of a small central Minnesota town told a family to get rid of three of their dogs. Meire Grove changed its dog ordinance last year, limiting the number people can own.

The Theiler's have five dogs, and they think they should be grandfathered in.

"He's like more than a best friend, he's like a brother," Logan Theiler said.

Logan and his dog Max are pretty much inseparable. The 11-year-old suffers from depression and anxiety.

"It's almost like me and him have a bond, and I know how he feels when he is sad, and when I'm sad he makes me happy and he always makes me look up and have my chin up," Logan Theiler said.

His family has four more dogs, all sled dogs. The city of 179 people changed its dog ordinance last summer, for the first time, limiting the number a person can own. In this case, two.

"How do you just get rid of your dogs? You can't, I mean you could, I can't do that," mom Ashley Theiler said.

It angers her that the city wants her to choose.

"We don't deserve it, my animals don't deserve it, nor does anybody else," Ashley Theiler said.

Meire Grove's Mayor lives two doors down.

"When I got all the calls, and everything got directed to me, I had to go to the council and say, 'Hey, what do we do?'" Matt Silbernick said.

Silbernick said the ordinance stems from complaints and people calling dogs in the town a nuisance.

"If everyone would control their dogs barking and stuff, I really feel that we wouldn't have had to do any of it," Silbernick said.

The Theiler's had five dogs before the ordinance was voted on. Another family in town had four.

"We want to be grandfathered in. I mean, we were here before they made an ordinance," Ashley Theiler said.

Ashley Theiler started an online petition. So far more than 9,000 people have signed it. She plans to appeal to the city council at next week's meeting. The Mayor said they'll listen, but he's not sure they'll budge. It's now a misdemeanor to have more than 2 dogs.

The family has started a petition online to keep their dogs.