Dog owner to be cited following fire deaths

Authorities are expected to cite a former renter with a kennel violation following a garage fire in Scanlon responsible for the loss of seven dogs Nov. 18.

The former renter at 1208 28th Ave. will face a misdemeanor charge and fine for disobeying Scanlon ordinance requiring a license for private or commercial kennels. The Pine Knot does not generally name a person until they've been charged.

"Through her own admission she knows she needed a permit," Cloquet police chief Derek Randall said. "She was selling pitbulls out of that location that would require a kennel permit, so we're going to end up issuing her a citation for not having a kennel permit."

The city of Scanlon and Cloquet both set limits on the number of pets a residence can have - a combination of three dogs or cats over 6 months old in Cloquet, or "four or five" dogs and cats over 6 months old in Scanlon.

Randall dismissed the idea of charges related to animal cruelty, saying the renter and her associates could credibly claim the fire was an accident.

Seven pitbulls perished in the fire, the Cloquet Area Fire District confirmed last week.

Randall said that in talking with a Fire District investigator, he learned the cause of the fire will be listed as "inconclusive." Investigators traced the origin of the fire to an area of a woodstove heating the garage, but don't want to commit 100-percent, pending new information, Randall said. Arson is not suspected at this time, Randall said, adding he understood insurance matters in the case were already complicated.

The owner of the house died over the summer and his remaining family has taken ownership, overseeing what is now a vacant property. The former renter was reported by a neighbor to have been at the location this week, removing heavy wire kennels from the garage in which the animals perished.

Randall confirmed the woman who owned the dogs had been operating a kennel, peddling pitbulls online as recently as the week of the fire.

"She knows what she was doing," he said.

A neighbor reported a chaotic property filled with yelling, banging, barking, and even confrontations with neighbors.

"There were dogs locked in the garage all summer and it was so hot I wasn't sure how they were able to stay alive," said Michelle Line, a local realtor and longtime resident of the neighborhood.

She shared a video taken this summer of nonstop barking emanating from the garage, and photos of a series of dogs roaming the property. Line is one of numerous people to complain to both the city of Scanlon and Cloquet police.

Two people associated with the kennel operator reached out to the paper critical of its initial Nov. 25 report of the fire. But neither she nor those associates returned inquiries from the Pine Knot.

Scanlon mayor Annette Bryant confirmed the city called police in October about repeated complaints the city had been fielding about the residence. She declined to discuss further details, referring the newspaper to police.

Line described dogs growling at her while she and a family member gardened, and calling the police herself more than once. She ended up building a fence to shield her own pets and property from the operating kennel.

"I feel like I have been doing my part trying to bring attention to it for a long time," she said.

Line lamented the loss of the dogs' lives and wondered if more could have been done to spare them from their fate. She described how she and a family member witnessed the fire from their hot tub, and even tried offering wet blankets until the fire grew out of control.

Randall seemed to understand the dismay, calling the situation "a mess." An earlier fire this year inside the home had knocked out its power, he said, and the city confirmed it had shut off water to the house for lack of payment. Randall said the woman was getting water from a nearby stream.

Police visited the residence in June and again in October. They also fielded calls about kennel operations and dog breeding at the address. But when police would arrive, no violations were evident.

Once, the woman allowed police into the garage where they observed two grown dogs and several puppies, Randall said. Police also checked in following a report of pitbulls running around without leashes.

"They didn't leave the yard, but were making people feel uneasy," Randall said. "There were other calls that they had some type of kennel or breeding going on."

During one interaction, the woman told police she was seeking proper permitting as well as federal licensing through the United States Department of Agriculture.

"It looks like the times we did go over she had a response to us, or there was nothing that officially met the city code violation for the kennel permit," Randall said.

The police chief said the department will be able to track down the kennel operator in order to issue the citation. Additionally, he addressed the police's role in animal control, especially now that the city no longer has a shelter.

Police offer coupons for free spaying and neutering of pets twice a year, and also two microchipping events. Police carry chip readers and try to return lost animals to their owners. They have also built a small shelter kennel at the city's public works location in case they have to quarantine an animal while working through a case.

"We don't have many strays," Randall said. "But it's a balancing act."

He encouraged people to call 911 if they encounter issues with pets and animals in their neighborhoods.