Town taking action against ‘illegal dog shelter’ in Baiting Hollow
The Riverhead Town Board has approved a resolution to take legal action against a Baiting Hollow property that town officials allege is acting as an illegal dog shelter.
The board gave town attorney Robert Kozakiewicz the green light to begin a state Supreme Court civil action against the owners and tenants at 31 Goose Lane. Mr. Kozakiewicz said the building is being used to run an adoption business in violation of town code.
The shelter, called Precious Pups, has been adopting out small rescue dogs, Mr. Kozakiewicz said, though he couldn’t say how many dogs were believed to be inside the house at any given time.
“It was something brought to our attention,” he said. “One neighbor complained about the noise.”
In an interview Wednesday morning, a woman who identified herself as the house’s owner said she was fostering dogs for a shelter in Ronkonkoma, adding that the town never sent her a notice that she had violated the town code.
“Once in a while, maybe, I have one or two [shelter dogs] here,” said the woman, who did not give her name. “I just foster a couple of them. Is it against the law to foster a dog? I mean, some people foster children.”
