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FRANKLIN SQUARE -- Issues persist between a township resident and a business that recently moved into the township.
First discussed at length by Constable Dan Valentine in June, the issues between the dog kennel and training center located at 2 Painter Path in Washingtonville persist, with the owners of the property sharing their frustrations with trustees in their Sept. 12 meeting.
Katie Schwarzwaelder, the founder of the business, explained that they had purchased the 127-acre property, which previously operated as a dog athletic center, since their original facility and well on Taggart Street in East Palestine had been affected by the derailment and was considered contaminated. Schwarzwaelder said that they had operated in that original location, which was only 27-acres, for over seven years without complaint, training police, military, special forces and border patrol dogs. She said they had chosen the property in question, which is an un-zoned, commercial property, not only to suit their training needs, but to ensure they would not disrupt the community.
"We really did our due diligence to home in on the surroundings and ensure that there was nobody we would disturb operating out business," said Schwarzwaelder.
Schwarzwaelder said that in spite of this there had been constant and continued issues with and complaints from a single resident regarding the property, echoing Valentine's own comments on the issue in June. Schwarzwaelder also said that barking on command is an essential component of the training of protection dogs, and that they had done everything they could to resolve the issue without success.
Schwarzwaelder explained that there are 18 dogs that live on the property permanently which are part of the program to breed working dogs for their clients, and that it is the number one breeding program for riot control dogs in the country. In an effort to "try and be a friendly neighbor," thus far electric barking control collars that automatically administer a shock when the animal barks had been put on these dogs. However, despite this, not only have complaints continued, but Schwarzwaelder said that the collars were beginning to negatively impact the physical and mental well-being of the dogs.
"I think we've gone above and beyond to be compliant and to try and appease this individual. Unfortunately its causing very negative side effects for our dogs. It's causing them to have trouble barking when they're supposed to because they're afraid to bark. It's also causing physical damage to the dog's necks," said Schwarzwaelder.
Schwarzwaelder said that in her professional opinion keeping bark collars on the animals for such an extended period of time is inhumane and noted frustration at the need to take such extreme measures to appease a single person.
"In my judgment as a professional dog trainer for many years -- I've won five national championships and been on two world teams -- its inhumane to keep a bark collar on a dog 24/7, and the reason we purchased the property we did was to be able to run our business in a humane and pleasant way," said Schwarzwaelder. "We've been put out now for so long because of the train, and we tried our best to place ourselves in an appropriate position, and the stress of constantly having to worry about upsetting one neighbor is becoming very difficult and upsetting to us, not to mention the inhumane ways we're forced to keep our dogs quiet all the time."
Schwarzwaelder also emphasized their efforts to remain in contact and collaborate with Valentine, and echoed past frustrations from Valentine that they will continue to receive complaints from the resident about their dogs when their animals are silent, while dogs on adjacent properties are barking. Schwarzwaelder also noted they would be happy to give the trustees a tour of their facility to see how they operate, noting the same offer had been extended to the resident in question, but they had never received a reply.
"I feel like because we are the only dog facility in the area, we're being attacked because they think we have a lot of dogs. But our dogs are heavily trained, highly trained; they bark on command, and now they're being restricted in their off time for just being dogs. They don't bark excessively; they don't bark all the time," said Schwarzwaelder. "I'm very sensitive to it; I've had two strokes, I have two service animals, I'm very sensitive to noise, and I can tell you that my dogs don't bark. They'll bark if somebody pulls up the driveway like anybody's dog would bark but they don't bark excessively. The reason we're here is to come to some kind of understanding of how we need to proceed so the stress and the burden can come off of us and our dogs."
Schwarzwaelder also said that they had documents from the township that were in favor of the business coming to the township and bringing the significant economic benefits its nation-wide clientele provided with it. Schwarzwaelder said this clientele also includes several area departments with K-9 units including the city of Salem.
Board of Trustees Chairman Ray Heddleson thanked Schwarzwaelder for attending the meeting and sharing their concerns, promising the trustees would investigate the situation further and see what could be done.
"We do understand your situation, and we know dogs bark. All we can do is look into it more with the prosecutor and that's what we'll do. As far as the legal aspect of it, I know you're all legal and registered and everything you should be. We will take it into consideration and do more checking on it for you," said Heddleson.
The meeting concluded with an executive session for the discussion of personnel matters with no action to follow.
The trustees will meet next at 7 p.m. Sept. 26.