Markeshia Ricks Photo
Wingate: Mission accomplished.
Two years after a New Haven woman was mauled to death by a dog on the Boulevard, the alder who witnessed it got to declare some triumph out of tragedy.
That happened Thursday night as his colleagues voted nearly unanimously to support an ordinance that he hopes will prevent such a tragedy from happening again in the Elm City.
Alders passed an ordinance aimed mostly at dangerous and vicious dogs, with one alder abstaining from the vote because of a number of changes suggested by the city’s Corporation Counsel that he felt he had not had enough time to review.
The vote took place at a full Board of Alders meeting at City Hall. Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate authored and shepherded the proposal through the approval process. Wingate pushed for strengthening the city’s animal control ordinance after witnessing the mauling of Jocelyn Winfrey, who lost her leg and eyes in the attack. Winfrey died because of the severity of her injuries.
The late Jocelyn Winfrey.
The revised New Haven animal ordinance does the following:
• Gives the animal control division the authority to classify dogs as potentially dangerous, dangerous, or vicious and different levels of intervention and regulation is associated with each level.
• Requires owners or keepers of dogs to maintain control of their dogs at all times and not allow them to roam at-large.
• Clarifies that the ordinance does not apply to service dogs, and defines what a service dog is. But that it does apply to emotional or comfort support dogs.
• Requires that dogs have parvovirus vaccinations.
• Requires permits for breeders and litters.
Westville Alder Adam Marchand, who vice-chairs the Legislation Committee, said the ordinance was revised with the help of corporation counsel’s office is the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of alders on his committee as well as the Public Safety Committee, chaired by Quinnipiac Meadows Alder Gerald Antunes.
Marchand said that the ordinance “empowers animal control officers to take actions to protect the public from vicious dogs and clarifies the responsibilities of dog owners.
“Taken together these changes would strengthen the protections of the public from dangerous animals,” he added.
Winter abstains because of last- minute changes.
Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter wasn’t so sure, mostly because he’d only received the latest proposed draft from Corporation Counsel about 24 hours ago.
“I feel like I need more time to read the changes, particularly some of the new tiers of classification and how we treat animals that fall into those classifications,” he said.
He said he would like more time to look at new regulations like a provision in the ordinance that requires that a dog designated as potentially dangerous by an animal control officer be spayed and neutered within 42 days. He said he wanted more time to understand the impact of that and let his fellow alders know that he would abstain from the vote.
Wingate made a passionate plea for his colleagues to support the ordinance and finally move it forward.
“I just want to say that I’ve been working on this and it hasn’t been easy given what started this conversation — someone losing their life because of an irresponsible dog owner,” he said. “What we’re trying to do tonight is give some strength around the dog owners who are not being responsible. A lot of time has went into this, corp counsel, my colleagues as alders. Everybody played a part in bringing this to the table.
“In life, sometimes tragedy has to turn into triumph,” he added. “Unfortunately, someone had to lose their life before we really got to this point. “
Wingate said even two years later he still has to hold back his emotions because of what he saw happen to Winfrey.
“if you saw what I saw you would know that something needs to be done for the residents of the city in reference to these vicious dog attacks,” he said.
Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, a retired letter carrier who has endured multiple dog attacks, said he knows all too well and that the legislation is long overdue.
“This is a good ordinance,” he said. “We’ve been working on it for two years and I feel very confident that this is something will benefit every resident.”
Though Downtown Alder Abigail Roth was supportive of the ordinance, she was also supportive of Winter’s point that alders and by extension the public should have an opportunity to see the ordinance in its final form and have a chance to comment before it is voted on by the full board.
Upper Westville Alder Daryl Brackeen Jr. argued that two years of deliberation were more than enough time. He said that the final recommendations from corporation counsel were a response to cleaning up the final form of the ordinance that came through the Legislation Committee, which also had a public hearing.
“So for any member of this board to claim that they did not have a chance to see, to go back into the record, to hear the voice recordings and review legislation, talk to the makers is a disservice to their whole board and their constituents,” he said. “This process has been wide open and properly vetted. And I think it is probably one of the better pieces of legislation that we’ve seen in the last 10 years.”