CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Dave DeWolfe and his family, having just returned home from son R.J. Mawhinney’s high school graduation, found themselves caught in the May 22 tornado. They survived, with little more than cuts and bruises. Their 2-year-old dogs, Kain and Kita, survived, too, even though most of the home at 2201 S. Wall Ave. fell in on them.

“I heard whimpering, and I realized they were still alive,” DeWolfe said of the dogs, an American pit bull and a Rottweiler. “So I borrowed some shoes from the neighbor, and went back in to dig through the wreckage. When I found Kain, that was the happiest thing. Then I crawled through a bedroom window and found Kita, who was just fine.”

DeWolfe’s daughter, Janelle Mawhinney, provided temporary shelter for family members at her apartment on 32nd Street, but couldn’t take the dogs.

“We had to put the dogs in a shelter set up by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) for a while, and that was a hard thing to do,” DeWolfe said. “It was difficult to put them there; we were so worried how they’d react, but they did well. Every day after work from Cardinal Scales we’d load up and go visit them.”

He said it was hard for the family to find an apartment or house in the area, but finally they learned of a home in Carl Junction near a friend.

“My wife loved it. We thought it was too good to be true: a decent neighborhood, a good price, everything came through with the bank, and we were so happy about it,” DeWolfe said. “It was great news that a house is up for sale, so we said, ‘Let’s grab it,’ just to get off the street and out of my daughter’s apartment.”

They returned to the site of their former home on Wall Avenue often to salvage what they could, and moved into their new home at 509 Locust Ave. in Carl Junction in July. It was only after they had settled in that they sat down to read through a welcome packet from the city.

‘Oh no!’

“That’s when we saw we couldn’t have these dogs,” DeWolfe said. “It never even crossed my mind before. When we saw that, we were like, ‘Oh no!’”

Carl Junction is one of more than 650 cities around the country that have legislation prohibiting certain breeds of dogs within the city limits, according to DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victims’ group that works to reduce dog attacks. Those bans are aimed largely at pit bulls and Rottweilers, which the group maintains were responsible for nearly three-quarters of the 52 dog attacks in the United States in which a person was killed between 2006 and 2008.

DeWolfe maintains Kain is a “family dog — not the typical picture of what a terrible pit bull is. If you met him, you would know. He’s a little softy.

“I got Kain as a baby, the runt of the litter that no one wanted. I said I’d take the little guy, and at one point he ended up with dog flu or dog pneumonia and almost died. I fed him chicken soup and crackers to keep him alive, so we had a tight bond before the tornado hit.”

DeWolfe and his wife purchased Kita, the Rottweiler, from a breeder and “fell in love with her.”

“She’s an 80-pound lap dog that wants to give you kisses.”

On Dec. 2, DeWolfe said he was informed by the city’s animal control officer that he was violating the city ordinance, so he approached the City Council on the following Monday with a request: He would be willing to do “whatever it takes” in terms of kenneling or muzzling the animals if the council would approve his keeping them.

“It’s my fault ... I should have checked the laws,” he said.

While council members said they sympathized with DeWolfe’s situation, they didn’t want to set a precedent by allowing him to keep the dogs.

Carl Junction’s ordinance banning pit bulls was put in place in 1995, according to City Clerk Maribeth Matney. Those ticketed for violating the ordinance face a fine of $200 to $500.

The City Council took no action on DeWolfe’s request.

“It’s difficult, I tell you,” said Councilman Richard Zaccardelli on Tuesday. “Every one of them who has come to the council and raised one from a puppy, they have such strong feelings for them. I know it’s hard to give them up. But on the other hand, if you do it for one, you set a precedent. It’s unfortunate that (DeWolfe) didn’t realize we had the law.”

Zaccardelli said he is especially against making any exceptions to the ordinance after a problem in his ward, Ward 3, in which a pit bull got out of its fenced enclosure and entered a garage during a yard sale several years ago.

“It took food away from a little girl, and it scared the living daylights out of everyone. The dog was picked up,” he said. “It’s a touchy situation. I know how it is to lose them; I have had to put a few of mine to sleep. I’ve never had to give one away, though. I feel sorry for them; I really do.”

Zaccardelli said he hopes one positive that comes out of the situation is that more people might now check local ordinances before making a home purchase or changing residences.

Carl Junction City Attorney Mike Talley said the ordinance only provides for an exception for dog owners who registered with the city prior to the ordinance going into effect.

“In order to do anything different, you would have to amend the ordinance, but if you do that it will apply to anybody,” Talley advised the council.

Carl Junction Police Chief Delmar Haase said that if the council approved the exception, he knew of others in town who would make similar requests. Haase told DeWolfe he would give him time to relocate the dogs and not issue a ticket.

“We try to work with our residents whenever we can,” Haase said. “But approving one would set a precedent. We’ve had this ordinance for quite some time, and all the dogs grandfathered in under it are now gone. We’ve had quite a few requests and if you open it up to one, you’ve just defeated your ordinance.”

Janelle Mawhinney, meanwhile, has posted information about Kain and Kita on Craigslist in an attempt to find them a permanent home.

“We have a good lead,” DeWolfe said Monday. “We’re not 100 percent sure, but someone from Neosho called us and said she has six acres and could take both of them. We just want to go out and make sure it’s a safe environment and that wherever they’re going to, everyone there can interact with them.”

“They’re our babies, and they’re shocked just as much as we were during the whole thing.”



Around the horn

More than 650 cities in the United States have bans on some breeds of dog, focused almost entirely on pit bulls and Rottweilers, according to DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victims’ group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks. Here is the rundown on local communities:

Joplin has no city ordinance restricting ownership of pit bulls, Rottweilers, or any breed-specific legislation.

Carthage approved a pit bull ban in 1992 after an incident in which a child was killed.

Pittsburg, Kan., has an ordinance banning pit bulls. Those who owned them before the ordinance was adopted are subject to restrictions.

Neosho does not have a breed-specific ordinance against pit bulls. A dangerous animal ordinance is in place, but could apply to any kind of animal should it be deemed unsafe.

The Webb City City Council approved an ordinance this summer that makes it unlawful to have a pit bull in the city limits unless it was registered with the city before the ordinance was adopted. The ban was in response to an attack by a pit bull on a Shih Tzu.