W-B revisits dog rules

WILKES-BARRE – City officials thought their quest to adopt more stringent rules against pit bulls and their owners had come to a dead end after realizing that state law prohibits municipalities from drafting breed-specific ordinances.

But now that they have received news about a Reading city council ordinance that has reportedly reduced pit bull attacks dramatically, they believe their mission can finally be accomplished.

"We found an ordinance we think we can tailor one after," said Mayor Tom Leighton. "It’s definitely something that we need. It has become a serious problem. The wrong people are owning them (pit bulls)."

In a recent Times Leader article about a pit bull attack in South Wilkes-Barre, Solicitor Tim Henry said the city has tried for years to implement stricter rules against pit bulls and their owners, but couldn’t find a way because of state law.

Karel Minor, executive director of the Humane Society of Berks County, contacted a reporter after reading the story, saying Reading thought it had the same problem, but found a way to target pit bulls in an ordinance drafted in the late 1990s without specifically naming the breed. A story on Reading’s ordinance ran Saturday.

Minor said a large number of pit bull attacks in Reading influenced city council there to pass the ordinance, which states that any breed that accounts for 40 percent of reported dog bites on humans or animals in any year in which 30 or more dog bites occur will be declared an aggressive dog and will be subject to stricter rules for at least a year.

In the first year after the ordinance passed, there were more than 30 dog bites in Reading and pit bulls were responsible for more than 40 percent, so the more intense rules were immediately implemented.

Under the ordinance, pit bulls were forced to be muzzled and kept on a leash when not on their owners’ properties. Additionally, owners had to post an 8?-by-11-inch sign on their homes’ windows, saying they own a dangerous dog. They also had to place a special tag on their pit bulls, identifying them as aggressive, and were ordered to obtain permits at a cost of $50 per spayed or neutered dog or $500 for each pit bull that wasn’t sterilized.

Dog grooming goes better with Coke

When customers walk into the front room of the North Austin dog grooming business, they see something that looks like Willy Wonka might have designed it.

Up to 600 six-packs containing full bottles of Coca-Cola line the shelves from ceiling to floor, along with vintage Coke machines and other Coke memorabilia including clocks, planes, stuffed Coke bears and a Coke-themed Christmas village.

Past a swinging door, the cages where the dogs are kept are painted bright red, and grooming tables set up nearby have barber stool pedestals and tops with American flag and Coca-Cola designs.

"When I first came in and was crawling through that little hallway of Coca-Cola memorabilia, I could not even believe it was for real," said Dana Roberson, a customer at Luther's Grooming, off Burnet Road near Anderson Lane.

Now, like many loyal customers, she said she has become amazed with Luther Edmonson's grooming talents and his compassion for suffering animals.

"He will take a dog that's been neglected forever and groom them," Roberson said. "I've seen him work on dogs where their skin is cracking from matting and they are bleeding."

"I believe what I can do is make them feel better and have a better life," Edmonson said.

For work this day, he was wearing his usual red, white and blue bandana, a Coca-Cola T-shirt, jeans and red, white and blue shoes that were a combination of tennis shoes and boots. He hasn't cut his hair in 25 years but pulls his brown braids back when working.

His long white beard sometimes gets in the way of the nail grinders he uses on the dogs, he said with a chuckle.

But he won't cut it.

"I hate haircuts, and I hate shaving," he said.

All the bright colors in his shop make him happy and also help relax customers, Luther said.

He and his wife started collecting Coca-Cola memorabilia from flea shops and couldn't stop, he said.

A dog groomer since 1961, Edmonson was born on a farm in West Texas and graduated from Snyder High School not knowing what to do, he said.

He worked for animal control in Lubbock and ended up running a dog kennel for a friend. He learned about grooming by going to dog shows, but his first attempts were sometimes disastrous.