The Mount Olive town board by a 5-0 vote Tuesday night, Aug. 8, approved an animal control ordinance prohibiting pets at the popular N.C. Pickle Festival. The prohibition does not apply to service and guide animals. During the meeting Lynn Williams, left, co-chairwoman of the N.C. Pickle Festival, explained why festival, and Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, asked for the ordinance. From left are Williams, Town Attorney Carroll Turner and Commissioner Barbara Kornegay. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
Mount Olive Town Manager Jammie Royall, left, talks during an Aug. 1 town board ordinance review session about a request from N.C. Pickle Festival and Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce officials for an ordinance banning pets from the festival. From left are Royall and Commissioners Vicky Darden and Tommy Brown. The board approved the ordinance at its Aug. 8 meeting. (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
People who attend future N.C. Pickle Festivals are being asked to leave their pets at home. Those who fail to do so could be asked to leave the festival footprint or face the prospect of being charged with a misdemeanor and/or a possible fine.
The Mount Olive Town Board by a 5-0 vote Tuesday night, Aug. 8, approved the animal control ordinance prohibiting pets at the popular festival. Service and guide animals are exempt from the ordinance.
Coordinated by the North Carolina Pickle Festival, Inc. in partnership with the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, the annual N.C. Pickle Festival is held each April in downtown Mount Olive.
The ordinance was requested by festival and Chamber officials because of public safety concerns and the welfare of the pets, said Lynn Williams, N.C. Pickle Festival co-chairman.
The ordinance reads in part, “It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, business or corporation to have in their possession or control any animal, dog, cat, horse, mule, donkey, cattle, sheep, goats, chicken, snake or domestic fowl during the NCPF within the confines of the downtown business district and/or any event being conducted as part of the NCPF.
“The prohibition in this section does not apply to animals that are part of an authorized event or to service dogs, guide dogs or hearing dogs when accompanied by a blind or deaf person.”
It adds that violators may be charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a fine under the town’s uniform civil penalty ordinance.
“The ordinance before you is one that we have talked about, I say we, the N.C. Pickle Festival and the Chamber,” Williams told the board. “We have talked about it for a long time. Essentially what it does, it prevents people from bringing pets to the festival.
“It is a concern for us for the animals and for the welfare of the animals that are there and also it is a safety concern.”
Williams continued, “The festival is crowded. The streets are hot. There is very little green space. We have seen stressed dogs.
“We have had dogs bite people. We had one bite a child.”
On a less serious note, the dogs tend to urinate on the tires of the vehicles in the classic car show, she said.
That, she said, does not go over well with the vehicle owners.
Other festivals similar in size to the Pickle Festival have been contacted to see how they handle pets, Williams said.
“Most of the festivals downtown like ours, of the size we are, they also prohibit folks bringing their animals,” she said. “For us, it is a common sense thing. We expect, if approved, that we will get some push back about it because people want to bring their dogs.
“But we just think it is the best thing for the festival that day.”
Williams was asked if there was a provision in the ordinance to allow for seeing eye dogs.
It does, Williams responded.
“Service animals are permitted,” she added. “It also exempts animals that are part of activities and attractions at the festival. So it is just for folks bringing their pets.”
Her response did not seem to satisfy Commissioner Delreese Simmons.
Simmons noted that Police Chief Jason Hughes had brought up enforcement concerns during the board’s Aug. 2 ordinance review session discussion about the proposal.
“Suppose that somebody come out there that needs a gold fish, just an example,” Simmons said.
Both Williams and Mayor Pro-tem Steve Wiggins responded, “a comfort animal?”
“Yeah, and they are walking around with it,” Simmons said. “What are you going to do tell them, ‘get out of here with it?’”
Williams said she was not going to quibble over a goldfish.
“Let’s say a baby snake,” Simmons persisted.
Williams said festival and Chamber officials realize that despite all of their best efforts to publicize the no-pet policy that there is a chance someone from out of town will show up with their pet.
“We are working with a local boarding firm that they will provide a place, and we are trying to decide now where that would be set up,” she continued. “They (festival-goer) could check in with this place and bring their pets to this place, and they will provide care for their animal for a nominal fee during the day of the festival.
“So if somebody does come up with their pet snake, we can say, ‘let us refer you to over here and let you board your animal while you enjoy the festival.’”
The exchange drew some chuckles from the audience and did not appear to assuage Simmons.
“A comfort animal is 24/7,” he continued.
Williams agreed.
“So you take that person’s comfort away and that person becomes outraged,” Simmons said. “You rather have an outraged person or comfort person?”
Williams responded that she had rather not see anyone else injured because of a stressed animal.
“That is where I am going to land,” she said.
Commissioner Barbara Kornegay said she knew other festivals had been contacted about their pet policies.
Kornegay asked if any of the other festivals had any enforcement issues they could recite that would help the town be prepared for any enforcement issues.
“Generally, my understanding of it is that if there is an ordinance in place, then we have the authority to say to somebody, ‘your animal is not allowed here on the festival footprint,” Williams said. “‘You have two options — you can leave and take your animal home, or you can board it while you enjoy the festival.’
“With the ordinance we would have the support of Jason, the police chief, to keep that in check.”
Wiggins made the motion to adopt the ordinance. It was seconded by Commissioner Tommy Brown and unanimously approved.
During the Aug. 2 ordinance review session referred to by Simmons, Hughes questioned what type of documentation someone would need to provide to police to confirm their pet is service dog.
“I can go on and tell you that is what people are going to say — it is my service dog,” Hughes said during the Aug. 2 session. “What kind of proper paperwork should they have to show us to determine, ‘hey, this is a service dog or not.’
“Because if not, then if somebody says it is my service dog, then we have got to let them go about their business.”
A lot of dogs are being given to veterans because of PTSD, Hughes said.
Brown said that the last knowledge he had of the issue is that a person cannot be asked for any kind of documentation once they tell you it is a service dog.
That includes asking for proof, he added.
Hughes said that was his only issue with the ordinance.
Wiggins said that people may have a service dog, but the issue is biting.
The ordinance may have to be tweaked in the future to include muzzles for service animals, he added.
“I don’t care how hard you try, somebody out there is going to try to get around (it),” Town Attorney Carroll Turner said during the ordinance review session.
From the enforcement standpoint, police probably would be looking at simply telling someone with “this dog or sheep” that they cannot have it at the festival and that hopefully they will leave, Turner said.
“Even if they don’t, you slap them with a civil penalty of a $100 and see if they want to leave then,” he added. “They can be charged with a criminal offense if they have to be.”
