By Mark Waite
Attorney Nancy Lord, a candidate for Fifth District Court judge, filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the county’s newly-enacted animal ordinance.
She asks for a declaratory judgment that it is unconstitutional.
Her separate request for a temporary restraining order against Nye County preventing enforcement of the ordinance was denied by Fifth District Judge Robert Lane Wednesday.
Lord’s petition in her lawsuit states she owns several mature and young dogs. Prior to Sept. 18, there was no limit on the number of spayed or neutered dogs in the county, she states.
The changes to Nye County Code Title 6 require anyone with more than five dogs or cats to obtain a residential kennel permit, at the discretion of animal control, which would allow keeping up to 10 dogs or cats. It is also unlawful to have more than two unspayed or unneutered dogs or cats over six months old, unless the owner has a pet fancier’s permit.
The ordinance mandates housing requirements for kennels with a minimum of seven-foot chain-link fence, covered at the top with tension bars and metal clamps to prevent escape. Concrete footings are required to prevent animals from digging out to escape, or buried chain link fence a minimum of three feet underground.
Lord’s petition claims, “anyone, including plaintiff, who cannot spend the thousands of dollars required and obtain the discretion of animal control would not be able to obtain release of their animal and defendant Nye County Animal Control would then kill the animals.”
Lord claims the new animal control ordinance doesn’t contain a provision for grandfathering owners of five dogs or cats who owned the pets before the ordinance was passed. She adds the ordinance wasn’t advertised in a newspaper of general circulation by law, at least once a week for a period of two weeks before it goes into effect.
Lord admits she exceeds the limits under the ordinance. She outlined her choices: apply for a kennel permit with the animal control department she claims “has already shown hostility” toward her in a visit on Oct. 17 and waive her fourth and fifth amendment rights, or risk being found out of compliance and seeing her animals killed.
Lord’s first cause of action states ordinance No. 430 criminalizes the acquisition of a pet and retroactively changes the legal consequence of acts committed prior to the enactment of the ordinance.
In her second cause of action, Lord states, “to allow Nye County Animal Control to search the home of persons forced to apply for a kennel permit under this ordinance is an unreasonable search.” The seizure of the animals is also a violation of the right to be free of unreasonable seizure, she states.
Nye County is also forcing people to bear witness against themselves, in requiring persons out of compliance to list all animals on their property, Lord states in her third cause of action.
The ordinance contains no provision for compensating people for the seizure of pets, a violation of the Constitution, she states in cause of action No. 4.
The killing of a pet seized because the owner isn’t in compliance and can’t afford to come into compliance with the new ordinance violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, Lord states in a fifth cause of action. It also violates their right to a hearing, she said and their right to privacy.
In a ninth cause of action, Lord states, “Nye County ordinance No. 430 was enacted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in the defendants Nye County selected only dogs and cats and did not apply the restriction to horses, birds, snakes, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, ferrets or any other animal popular in Nye County.”
Lord also claims the county ordinance is inconsistent with state law which defines a kennel as a place where at least 10 dogs are kept for boarding, training or breeding. She said the ordinance added cats, which are highly unlikely to disturb neighbors.
In her petition for the restraining order, Lord feared her candidacy for fifth district judge could lead to an attempt by Nye County Animal Control to seize her dogs out of retaliation. She also mentions a visit from Susan Rydal of Nye County Animal Control last spring who claimed three of her four horses were too thin.
“I increased their feed, per the direction of Rydal, the two other older horses gained weight and I was reassured that it was not my fault,” Lord said.
But Lord said one horse died July 24 and she was served with a citation Oct. 17, she claims she will prove is without merit.
Lord said a dog had puppies in the spring and were out of her home Oct. 17 during Rydal’s visit, in addition to her several adult dogs.
“There is no way that Nye County Animal Control will issue me a kennel permit and in my opinion is using this ordinance to accumulate information on multi-pet households that can and will be used against them and to obtain the right to inspect their property without a warrant,” Lord said. “Had I known of this ordinance I would not have built a home on my property in 2008.”
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- Nancy Lord
This woman can’t tell her own horses are too thin?? Animal Control has to tell her to feed her own horses more????? And just what we need here – more puppies!! As if the shelter isn’t crowded enough with the unwanted dogs and puppies that the ‘good people’ of Nye County are breeding! Why does she think Animal Control here – or anywhere – has to put animals to sleep????? It’s because of selfish people like her that insist on continuing to breed them! Shame on you Ms. Lord!
Some breeds of horse are meant to show a little rib and aged horses are especially hard keepers. We have been turned in to animal control 6 times by “Pahrump Do-Gooders” for starving our horses. Anyone that has a grudge against someone can make a complaint anonymously without fear of retribution. Each one of these unwarranted “wellness checks” costs Nye County animal control (and Nye County tax payers) and their budget is already stretched. As far as unwanted dogs and cats… Perhaps if Nye County had an affordable income based spay and neuter clinic there would be less unwanted/unplanned animals. It recently cost me nearly $200 to have my German Shepherd neutered. Maybe you should move to Las Vegas where you can’t even take a dump without it being regulated (a slight exaggeration but you get the point)
She never said her animals were to thin…Animal Control said they were…these are same ones who think all horses are quarter horses that never exorcise…or the same animal control who can’t tell stud from a gelding…or a mare…
The other thing is they can’t support endless animals,,,so the next step is to put them down..I doubt if she bred them all probably ,,,adopted then( taking them off the public feed bill). I take it you are against any type of breeding at all….to bad your parents were not…
Shallette, maybe YOU should move to Las Vegas where they have low cost spay/neuter clinics if it was such a hardship for you to do the right thing for your dog!
Fifthstate, actually that particular ACO owns horses and knows A LOT about them!
Lord states “I increased their feed, per the direction of Rydal, the two other older horses gained weight and I was reassured that it was not my fault,” IT’S A PITY THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAD TO TELL LORD TO FEED HER HORSES MORE!!
Don’t know who this was directed to: “I take it you are against any type of breeding at all….to bad your parents were not…” but it really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make you look too intelligent.
Well it’s plain to see what you told her to do…and why
Ms Lord stated that one of her horses died on July 24th and she is now being cited. She didn’t state what the cause of death was but I would be willing to venture a guess that the horse died of colic from overfeeding or a radical change in it’s diet at the advice of your knowledgeable ACO. If anything she should sue Nye County.
BTW- I moved out of Las Vegas 8 years ago to avoid the ridiculous rules, regulations, and excessive government oversight. I’m glad that you seem to be so financially well off, but not all Pahrump pet owners are quite as lucky. Perhaps you’d be willing to pay to have my 2 German Shepherd females spayed? Animal control should be more concerned about the dogs that are allowed to run free and jump my 6 foot fence to get to my registered females. Oh wait a minute… the ordinance states in part, “Housing requirements for kennels with a minimum of seven-foot chain-link fence, covered at the top with tension bars and metal clamps to prevent escape. Concrete footings are required to prevent animals from digging out to escape, or buried chain link fence a minimum of three feet underground.” How about the loose dogs that run out and try to bite my horse when I’m out riding? I know Tim and several other ACO’s personally and they know that our animals mean everything to us. We would go hungry before they would. Get off of your high horse and give people the benefit of the doubt.
Shallette: No one said that loose dogs are not a problem! It is a serious problem here and that is just one reason the ordinance was put in place. The ordinance addresses multiple problems and multiple issues.
I’m not even going to address your dogs. You’re being silly by putting words into my mouth and making silly assumptions about me, including Ms. Lord’s situation. I wouldn’t assume AC did not ask questions or do a follow up prior to writing a ticket. . . .
To fifthstate: I don’t even understand your comment. . . .
I’m excusing myself now from this. I’ve said what I wanted to and I just hope that this ordinance has the desired affect of making things here better.
You better re read carfeully what Lord is testafying in her rebuttal fact search what she is talking about she is correct! Wanker is trying to out smart Lord in the laws. Wanker is not a real nice lady she is mean! I sat through a Juror select trial and when she gets pearsonel she lets you know in a prudent way public scruitiny is un warrented in front of perfect strangers(None of your Business ) and NV should change it to selective Charecter Questions in private survey mailings by cerified mail and stop wasting time and Tax money in a Circus setting! Lords is going to win election and this case ! Wanker is a good buddy to Sandavol and refused to take a Q from the NCRNC on Taxes In NV Remember she was apt by Sandavol who wants to extend the temp emgcy tax Hikes is a lie no such thing A so called Republican who campaighned on no more taxes in this economy!
“”"”"”Lords is going to win election”"”"”"”"” it’s Lord to start with, and I wouldn’t vote for her if she was the only one on the ballot.
”””””Lords is going to win election”””””””””
ahahhahahhahhahahha so not true.
The ordinance is ludicrous. too bad they could not come up with a “control of methheads on premise” I cannot understand this county. I also do not understand animal control.. there are also a hell of alot of horses that could be looked at if they need something to do.. hire a farrier to help for negligence in town , he would be busy for months… We need jobs but the permits and license expedite at a snail’s slower sister’s pace. we want people to come here and occupy the massive vacant foreclosed homes but there will be no work. we want education, but the board wastes money on “theme park” plans and could easily make this a college town which we desperately need and more senior housing and push golf!telling someone what they can and cannot do to property is one thing,personal rights are everything. restrictions have never been how the wild west of this town rolls …can we keep it simple?
Go get em Nancy, the last thing this town needs is more laws and rules. I have animals, and if they think for ONE SECOND I am letting someone come in and inspect my home or make me get a permit for them, they are nuts. I care for my pets like they are part of my family,
Like Boudicea said, go after meth heads and stop trying to make us Las Vegas with all its crummy laws and ordinances.
I’m willing to bet Mr Bill “Big City Pahrump” Kolbarger is behind this one in one way or another.
Interesting that we are restricting people who own dogs and cats but allowing people to own wild animals such as lions and tigers without restrictions. Something wrong here.
Actually, lions, tigers and other “exotic” animals are included in the new AC ordinance. They are classified as “special condition animals” and they will now require a permit, as well as other considerations. This ordinance is not perfect, but it is a sincere attempt at trying to make it safer and to improve the quality of life for animals and people in Nye County. If anyone believes anything different – for whatever the reason – they’re very mistaken.
well now….a law suit we know the county will win. nacy lord hasn’t won a single motion against the county let alone a law suit….. she could’nt win a case with a smoking gun and a confession.
Shallette and fifthstate, you could insult and get personal all you want but I stand by my comments.
The bottom line is that Ms. Lord was told to feed her horses more and when she did they gained weight! It’s pathetic that someone has to be told to feed their horses (or any other animal) more!
The ACO, by the way, is a very experienced horse owner herself!
I’m not trying to insult you. It’s pretty plain to see that your attack on Nancy Lord is nothing more than an attempt to discredit her at the polls. Apparently not everyone who owns horses in this town is an equine nutritionalist like yourself and officer Rydal. My first question would have been, “Have the horses been wormed recently and in the case of the older horses when was the last time they had their teeth floated?” There are a lot of ppl. in this town that are new to horse ownership. Perhaps Nye county should start requiring new horse owners to attend “parenting” classes. Just think of the revenue that would generate
Here’s yet another case she will lose. Has this person ever won anything in court other than the disdain of the bench?
Nancy Lord has more integrity and honesty of any Lawyer I’ve ever met. She invests in helping people,instead of Giant campaign signs. Ms. Lord has taken on cases pro-bono and now days that’s unheard of. Some may consider her a “fly in the ointment”, because she fights hard for the people. Sometimes things don’t rule the way you want, but at least Nancy Lord gives her all. For that, she has our highest respect. We love you Nancy and the Animals love you!
I got ten bucks that says she’s late for her next court appearance. This woman is a train wreck. And how much money is this stupid lawsuit going to cost us taxpayers? Here’s an idea, don’t have more than 5 dogs. Wow, that was hard.
Robert, I agree with you.
She will be a train wreck until a real on comes along.
For the life of me I don’t know why the tea party supports her.
There are a lot of animals that have homes but the owner for some reason in uable or won’t take care of them properly. They go without food and medical and their shots aren’t kept updated. I feel the law should be written to protect those animals. You can tell by just looking at an animal if it is being taken care of properly or not. Even their fur gives you a clue something could be wrong. I don’t think the law should just come in without just cause just because they want to and inspect.
I see a lot of barbs being thrown around suggesting people leave if they don’t like it. This is like, America, Love or Leave It. This is a very bigoted view of society. I love my country, always have, always will. I love my town, always have, always will. But that doesn’t stop me from commenting or trying to change things that I see are wrong. Wanting change doesn’t imply I don’t like it here, nothing could be further from the truth.
Certainly there are many people who have animals that cannot afford to take care of them properly and some who can but spaying or neutering is an added burden they cannot handle. I understand that. I guess, for me, if I could not afford to properly take care of something, I would seriously consider giving it to someone who could.
Look, I know people think of their pets as family and the thought of giving one up is unthinkable. I understand that, but if the health of the animal is in jeopardy than some hard decisions are in order.
The animal control people here in Pahrump are dedicated to their jobs, love animals and are fully sympathetic of the plight of the animal owners, but they have to obey state and local laws, like anyone else.
First off, we dont need animal control running around checking on people’s cats and dogs. That is California style micromanaging from the government and is not needed in Pahrump. Second its about time people told all the “We need to change Pahrump” crowd to LEAVE if they dont like it here.
We moved here because we liked the way Pahrump was, little to no government crawling around our personal lives (Our our pets lives) and we don’t need shoe stores and animal police to feel important about ourselves.
My only interaction with Animal control I was made to feel like a lowlife, like a loser, and an evil person, all for turning in a lost puppy that WAS NOT mine, but was running down Blagg far away from any homes. I could not keep it, so I figured take it to them. They treated me like a criminal and like I was abandoning my pet and tried to make me sign paperwork that says as much. I walked out and signed nothing. If I cant turn in a stray animal to them without them treating me like a criminal, you think I trust them to have any say in my pets lives?
The sad truth is we DO need animal control to look after those that cannot look after themselves. Not everyone is a responsible pet owner. Hard as it may be to understand, there are some people out there who could care less about their animals and mistreat and/or abuse them. This isn’t California-Style micro management, this is common sense. Pahrump has had animal control for many years, probably well before you, or many of us, moved here.
In a civilized society, we need controls to prevent puppy mills from sprouting up everywhere. Do we want to be a haven for out of control animal farms with animals running all over the place, uncontrolled breeding and the spillover wandering all over town, in the roads and on other people’s property? I don’t and I suspect you do not either.
For me, there is no such thing as a puppy mill. The term “puppy mill” was coined by animal rights groups…like they coined “animal hoarder,” “factory farmer,” and other derogatory terms to make people who raise animals look like monsters.
There are people who raise animals because they love animals.
There are people who raise animals to make money. That doesn’t mean they don’t care about their animals. To call them puppy mills is like calling doctors “patient hoarders” or orchardists “factory fruit growers.” It is a deliberate insult.
There are good kennels and bad kennels. But, I’d say that 99 percent of them are good kennels.
If we are to have an effective animal control, they need to see the difference between bad animal breeders and good, not just blindly label all of them as bad.
Just because YOU don’t accept the term, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There are people out there breeding animals for profit, not because they love the breed. In fact, for some nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn’t matter the source of the term, the fact remains there are people in this world who are serial breeders and churn out litter after litter of puppies, often times to the detriment of the mama dog. And the way Animal Control determines if the breeders are legit is they have to have a permit to breed the animals. This allows them to stop by unannounced to ensure the animals are being taken care of properly and they are healthy.
Here’s the bottom line as far as the ordinance is concerned. Animal control doesn’t have the manpower or the funding to go door to door to count animals and check for licenses, so if you aren’t in compliance don’t draw undo attention to yourself. Keep your animals fenced and well fed and don’t let them bark incessantly. It’s pretty easy to tell if a male cat or dog has been neutered, but it’s another story to determine if a female has been spayed. The truth of the matter is that this is just another law that is virtually unenforceable and those that do get caught are going to be made examples of.
I know this is an old news, but I read most all the comments and was struck by how few people actually commented on the merits of the case.
This is supposed to be Nye county. Ron Paul won here. Why are we putting up with nanny staters in our county? We should be applauding this lady for fighting for us. Whether you like her nor not, at least she’s doing something about curbing progressivism.
Since when does the state just make up an arbitrary number like 5? If the state defines a kennel as 10, the county has no authority to change that. The town of Pahrump has a lot of horse property. A lot of dogs and cats. When I grew up on Texas if you had a horse you also had plenty of dogs and cats. As long as people are not mistreating them and as long as they keep them on their property, what business is it of the state to tell us how many we can have?
Anyone with any experience with dogs know one litter of pups and you almost always would violate this law.
Whether you like the lady or not, I would have expected a lot more comments supporting her and condemning the state for it’s overstepping of the rights of our citizens.