Published - Thursday, November 13, 2003
County denies puppy permit
By REID MAGNEY | Of the Tribune staff
The La Crosse County Board overwhelmingly voted down a zoning permit Wednesday to allow a rural family to continue commercial breeding of Rottweiler puppies. Advertisement
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La Crosse County puts no limit on the number of dogs a person can own, but the board's vote means Tom and Nancy Schomberg of the town of Barre can no longer sell puppies. They only can give them away.
"I have 26 pets now," said Nancy Schomberg, who has been breeding "family guard dogs" for 13 years and selling them to buyers throughout the United States. They have sold between 75 and 100 puppies a year at prices ranging from $200 to $700 each.
"I really feel the county board voted on hysteria and rumor," Schomberg said.
Supervisors voted 23-9 against a conditional-use permit, which had 14 conditions, including a limit of 26 adult dogs and requirements to meet county health codes.
Board Chairman Steve Doyle abstained because he's a member of the Coulee Region Humane Society Board, which opposed the permit.
The Schombergs, who have bred hogs and beef cattle for decades, began raising Rottweilers as a hobby. But over the years it grew into a business that isn't covered by the county's agricultural zoning.
After being contacted by the county, they applied for zoning permits that would allow them to have up to 100 dogs. That set off alarms among people concerned about the Rottweiler breed — dog owners who dislike large breeding operations and others who fear the breed's aggressive reputation. County staff and officials were flooded with letters and e-mails from around the country in opposition.
After two hearings before the Planning, Resources and Development Committee, the committee recommended the board approve a permit with restrictions.
The Schombergs didn't attend Wednesday's board meeting because county staff told them they didn't need to be there, Nancy Schomberg said.
If they had, they would have heard allegations and innuendos that they dispose of unwanted puppy carcasses in a manure spreader and that they haven't paid taxes on their earnings from selling puppies.
"No, no, no," Nancy said after hearing what was said at the board meeting.
Because they have a hog operation, some baby pigs that do not survive might have been disposed that way, she said. "There are no carcasses of dogs to be found in our manure spreader."
The question came up when board members asked what would happen to animals that couldn't be sold.
Dave Geske, the head of vector control and humane services for the county, told the board that he had heard a complaint about carcasses in the manure spreader. Board members gasped in revulsion.
In an interview later, Geske said the carcass complaint was something from "long ago" he'd only heard recently. "I don't know that it happened," he said.
At another point in the debate, one supervisor offered and withdrew an amendment requiring a $10 million liability policy. Another wanted to require the Schombergs to pay back taxes on previous puppy sales.
Nancy Schomberg said the family always has declared income from dog breeding to the state, along with other farm income.
Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or
rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.