On Tuesday evening, the Jefferson City Council handled one agenda item that related to a tabled decision from last month.

The issue was for the Council to consider changing an illegal dog status for a canine that is owned by Robert Gilmore and Nicole Townsley to a vicious animal. A hearing took place last month where the pitbull was accused of attacking and biting a neighbor and her dog. At the previous Council meeting, the Council voted two to two to change the designation to a vicious animal, which would allow the dog to stay in town under specific requirements and regulations in the city’s ordinance. Council member Darren Jackson was absent from the meeting and so the Council chose to table the issue until a full Council was present.

On Tuesday evening, Mayor Pro Tem Jackson was running the meeting, due to Mayor Craig Berry’s absence. Jackson was also allowed new information to be presented. The owners mentioned that the pitbull was up-to-date on vaccinations and rabies, and they agreed to follow the requirements in the vicious dog ordinance. A member with People for Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) of Greene County visited the owner’s home and their pitbull and didn’t see signs of aggression. The victim also spoke and agreed that the owners could keep their dog as long as they completely followed the requirements in the ordinance and she would report any incident if anything happened again.Following the discussion, each of the four Council members remained unchanged in their previous votes, with Matt Wetrich and Chad Sloan being in favor of changing the designation to vicious, while Harry Ahrenholtz and Pat Zmolek against. Jackson said that because the victim changed her mind and was okay with a vicious designation, he voted in favor of the change. The final result was that when Police Chief Mark Clouse is satisfied that the requirements to keep a vicious animal was met, according to the ordinance, then the pitbull could come back into town.