You think you want to clean up the Animal Control operation……
OK…That can be done, Not easily, but it can be done.
The first thing you can do is get rid of that illegal kennel inspection. That may sound self-serving since I have a kennel license, but that is the first thing you can do. You can’t do anything about individual dog licenses until next year’s budget process, by law. This kennel thing is under no authority of law and you can dump it anytime. Kennel licenses are due by June 1 and I suggest you dump this illegal ‘inspection’ business as quickly as you can, send letters to the kennel owners, veterinarians and county treasurer. The inspection fees from kennels only adds up to about $1,500 and for the animosity it generates, it is hardly worth bothering with. Wilson came up with this on his own, but he did get the board to approve it, and they did get a legal opinion from Randy Colbry telling them they had the authority to do it. Colbry is wrong. That may be a difficult thing to deal with.
Your information toolbox.
2. SYNOPSYS-attached, the rest later, should you wish to pursue
4. Shiawassee County Sherriff’s Department
5. Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (scanned)
Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (typed)
With note instructions to treasurer and veterinarians
6. Inspection slip AND “form”
7. Dog Law of 1919 Sec 10 Kennels
Sec 10 b Kennel licensing ordinance
9. Department of Agriculture Admin rule R 285.129.1
10. Report of the Attorney General No. 1897 January 24, 1955
12. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed one page as he delivered)
13. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading)
15. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading with my response)
20. ARGUMENT kinda sums it all up
OK…That can be done, Not easily, but it can be done.
The first thing you can do is get rid of that illegal kennel inspection. That may sound self-serving since I have a kennel license, but that is the first thing you can do. You can’t do anything about individual dog licenses until next year’s budget process, by law. This kennel thing is under no authority of law and you can dump it anytime. Kennel licenses are due by June 1 and I suggest you dump this illegal ‘inspection’ business as quickly as you can, send letters to the kennel owners, veterinarians and county treasurer. The inspection fees from kennels only adds up to about $1,500 and for the animosity it generates, it is hardly worth bothering with. Wilson came up with this on his own, but he did get the board to approve it, and they did get a legal opinion from Randy Colbry telling them they had the authority to do it. Colbry is wrong. That may be a difficult thing to deal with.
Your information toolbox.
2. SYNOPSYS-attached, the rest later, should you wish to pursue
4. Shiawassee County Sherriff’s Department
5. Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (scanned)
Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (typed)
With note instructions to treasurer and veterinarians
6. Inspection slip AND “form”
7. Dog Law of 1919 Sec 10 Kennels
Sec 10 b Kennel licensing ordinance
9. Department of Agriculture Admin rule R 285.129.1
10. Report of the Attorney General No. 1897 January 24, 1955
12. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed one page as he delivered)
13. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading)
15. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading with my response)
20. ARGUMENT kinda sums it all up
4. Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (scanned)
5. Copy of 2005 Shiawassee County Kennel License Changes (typed)
With note instructions to treasurer and veterinarians
The treasurer was instructed to require an inspection ‘slip’ before selling a kennel license.
That is not part of the treasurer’s job description.
The veterinarians (illegally acting as agents of the treasurer) were instructed to not sell more than 4 individual dog licenses to an address and tell those people they had to get in touch with animal control to get a kennel license.
That is also not part of the treasurer’s job description. Misfeasance of office?
6. Inspection slip
The first one I saw had some crap on it about SENATE BILL No. 782 which later became the “Large Carnivore Act” and SENATE BILL No. 705 which later became the “Wolf Dog Cross Act”. But a “Senate Bill” is not a law, statute or anything else. Totally irrelevant as to a dog kennel and just BS to try to snow people into believing it was something official. I don’t know where that form came from and I don’t know where this latest one comes from, either.
Sheriff Jon Wilson did this all on his own, so far as I can tell. I have no evidence of anything else, but I did hear somewhere that the Department of Agriculture suggested this as a means to recover ‘lost’ revenue when counties discovered they were overcharging for kennel licenses and had to reduce the kennel license fee. I have nothing to substantiate that and the Dept of Agriculture does not have the authority to do that. I would assume they might deny saying that, but I think they said it. When I FOIA’d they came up with all kinds of lame excuses, said that was up to the counties ( they really didn’t know or didn’t want to admit they knew anything about it ).
Anyway, since JW did this all on his own, you can undo it all on your own. It is easy to stop, just send a letter to kennel owners, dog license sellers (the Humane Society now sells licenses- equally as illegal as the vets selling them) and the county treasurer.
I am, of course, assuming you will be elected and you fully understand that, as sheriff, you are in charge. It would be a good thing to have your department operating within the law. ( novel idea )
7. Dog Law of 1919 Sec 10 Kennels
This is the law for kennels.
Sec 10 b Kennel licensing ordinance
This states a city, township or village may adopt a kennel ordinance provided it is the same as section 10. It does not say a county may do that.
9. Department of Agriculture Admin rule R 285.129.1
Section 10 provides that the department of agriculture shall promulgate reasonable rules with respect to the inspections of new kennels and that kennels comply with reasonable sanitary requirements. This is the Admin rule that establishes those requirements.
10, Report of the Attorney General No. 1897 January 24, 1955
Section 10 contains some confusing wording that was added later.”The provisions of this act shall not be effective in the counties of this state that are operating under the provisions of section 16…etc……. Without further thought many have simply dropped the whole thing, figuring they were not subject to the Dog Law of 1919. Sorry, not true. This AG opinion address that issue.
Those counties are not subject to the act that added this amendment and only that amendment, they are still subject to the Dog Law of 1919 and Sec 10 as the kennel regulations. Nice try.
12. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed one page as he delivered)
13. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading)
Mr. Colbry’s opinion states a section added in 1973 makes the AG Opinion of 1955 obsolete, the county is free to regulate kennels and the county does not need to consider only one year in determining the dog license fee.
Colbry is WRONG.
The section he refers to (29a) refers only to individual dog licenses and History: Add. 1972, Act 349, Imd. Eff. Jan. 9, 1973 also amended Sec 10.
If Sec 10 were to become obsolete, they would have eliminated it.
15. Randy O. Colbry LEGAL OPINION (typed split up for easier reading with my response)
My responses to this particularly stupid LEGAL OPINION are in red.
20. ARGUMENT kinda sums it all up
22a. new instructions and why
23. Complete Dog Law of 1919 Complete Through PA 300 of 2008
for your reference and it is also available online at
The Michigan Legislature website
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