[nagdu] Man in danger of losing service horse

Criminal Justice Major orleans24 at comcast.net
Sun May 13 16:41:16 UTC 2012


Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 7:25 AM
Subject: Man in danger of losing service horse
>From the comments:
Man in danger of losing service horse has readers debating ordinance, medical marijuana
Published: Saturday, May 12, 2012
By Amanda Emery 
temery at mlive.com 
FLINT TOWNSHIP, MI - A Flint Township man is in danger of losing his service animal - a mini-palomino named Little Nugget.
Township officials say the matter is one of zoning regulations and proper environment. This topic has readers debating whether the man should get to
keep Little Nugget, or if he is breaking the township's ordinances regarding livestock.
Carlton Lewis, 46, says the 34-inch-tall miniature palomino helps him move brush and debris from his backyard. Lewis purchased the animal about six months ago in Lapeer and brought her to his Dye Road home.
Lewis was told by township officials he couldn't keep Little Nugget because he is considered livestock. Lewis, who is a medical marijuana caregiver and patient, suffers from neck spurs pushing on his spinal cord, hernias, and knee problems.
Lewis was cited for having livestock boarded on improperly zoned residential
property, but the citation was dismissed because it referred to the wrong ordinance, said Tracey Tucker, economic enhancement director and deputy treasurer for the township.
The correct ordinance, Section 14.5-16, states, "No livestock shall be kept or maintained in any zoning district on parcels of land...less than 10 acres in area, except that for each dwelling unit the occupant may keep for his personal use domestic pets provided they are not kept or used for commercial or breeding purposes and do not constitute a kennel."
The Americans With Disabilities Act added a provision in 2010 which allowed for the use of miniature horses as service animals.
While Lewis argues that Little Nugget is a service animal that helps him to manage cleaning and moving things on his property, the township argues that she is not a service animal and plans to research the ADA requirements for a service animal.
Lewis said he plans to attend the May 31 appearance date set at the 67th District Court in Flushing.
Source:
http://blog.mlive.com/newsnow_impact/print.html?entry=/2012/05/from_the_comm
ents_man_in_dange.html


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