Shelby Township officials say an animal foster care operation in Forest Glen subdivision violates township ordinance. The operator continues to work with officials to resolve this issue and avoid shutdown.
As of Wednesday, Kelley LaBonty, president of Detroit Animal Welfare Group, had not applied to appear at the April 4 Zoning Board of Appeals' meeting to make her case for home-based animal foster care.
It’s been just over a month since officials first told Kelley LaBonty to cease fostering dogs at her Shelby Township home, but the issue remains far from resolved. LaBonty, who serves as president of the nonprofit Detroit Animal Welfare Group, says she has fostered dogs in her home since October 2011. In February, the president of the Forest Glen Homeowners Association brought the number of dogs in LaBonty’s care, almost a dozen including her own four, to the attention of the township’s board of trustees. The issue at that point was liability, specifically who would be held responsible should one of the dogs get loose and injure someone in the neighborhood. For Shelby Township officials, the issue is zoning. Township Planning Director …
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Shelby Township officials say a local dog rescue and foster care operation in Forest Glen subdivision violates township ordinance.
Does a home-based animal rescue operation have a place in Shelby Township? Township officials say no, which is news for Kelley LaBonty, who has operated the nonprofit Detroit Animal Welfare Group out of her home in the Forest Glen subdivision for the past 10 years. A registered nurse, LaBonty serves as president of DAWG and fosters multiple animals at any given time in addition to her own four dogs. In January, Shelby Township notified LaBonty that her operation was in violation of township zoning ordinances, as an animal rescue is "not a permitted use" in a residential area, according to The Macomb Daily. A second letter was sent the first week of February, which ordered LaBonty to remove the fosters she had and cease operating the rescue…
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12:59 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
She has been doing it for 10 years why make a big deal now. Thats just so sad that people have nothing better to do than complain about the neighbors that do good things. more ›
Shelby Paint & Decorating
11:47 am on Monday, March 18, 2013
As a resident of Shelby Twp., I also run a foster/rescue and have zero problems with my neighbors because a great set up. Fosters/Rescues have a secured dog pen that separates them from the rest of the yard and they are the free to run with supervision. I'd be happy to provided Kelley with some guidance on how to keep the peace and continue saving the animals that our society considers disposable… more ›