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Dogs Can Go to Farmers Market

Posted on: Thursday, 19 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Steve Ramirez, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.

Jan. 19--Pet owners will still be able to take their dogs to the Las Cruces Farmers Market.

The Las Cruces City Council voted 6-1 against a proposed ordinance that would have banned dogs from the market, held every Wednesday and Saturday morning on the Downtown Mall.

Councilors Dolores Connor, Jose Frietze, Gil Jones, Ken Miyagishima, and Steve Trowbridge, and Mayor Bill Mattiace voted against the ban on dogs.

Councilor Dolores Archuleta voted for the ban.

"I don't want to find myself behind closed doors negotiating a lawsuit settlement for a child that has been mauled," Archuleta said.

The ordinance was proposed after Lily Fernandez, a longtime market vendor, raised concerns to city officials about disobedient dogs that were defecating on the mall and destroying some of the products that vendors were trying to sell. A petition to ban dogs was started, and 46 vendors signed it.

"Sometimes, owners do not clean up after their dogs," Fernandez said. "Why should the vendors have to smell that stink the rest of the day?"

A city ordinance requires that dogs must be on leashes no longer than 8 feet. But Fernandez said that requirement did not work.

"You cannot control a dog with an 8-foot leash, it is too long" she said.

Fernandez added she was frightened during an Oct. 22 incident when a dog on a leash jumped over some canisters and got tangled up with Fernandez's table at the market. She said a shorter leash might have prevented the problem.

But other vendors said they have not seen, nor were they aware of, dogs causing any major problems at the Farmers Market.

"I have problems with children bumping my tables," said Jim Hurley, a market vendor. "We might have had one or two unruly dogs. Why ban them; ban the children, they are the bigger problem." Jean Williams, a vendor who organized a petition to keep pets at the market, said the issue has polarized vendors.

"It's sad this issue has created friction and mistrust between some of the vendors," Williams said. The petition to allow dogs to remain at the market was signed by 85 people, including vendors and customers.

Al Olsen, a dog owner and regular customer at the market, said dogs aren't the problem.

"Human behavior in the Downtown Mall can be down right dangerous," Olsen said.

Frietze, whose City Council district includes the Downtown Mall, said banning pets would be counterproductive.

"This is really an overreaction to a problem," Frietze said. "The studies we've done on the Downtown Mall all showed we're trying to attract people into the Downtown Mall. All major metropolitan areas have made provisions for people to have their dogs with them.

"We're adding more and more conditions for people to live in Las Cruces. I'm tired of it and people are getting tired of it," he said.

There was consensus from the council that greater enforcement is needed.

"We need to do some strong enforcement, some strong public education," Mattiace said.

Las Cruces resident Monty Sarvo agreed.

"I think it's great that it's been brought out," Sarvo said. "Common sense should prevail here."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.

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Source: Las Cruces Sun-News

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