Five years ago my family adopted two golden retrievers, a brother and sister, named Magnum and Jamie. A year ago Jamie gave birth to her first litter of puppies. We kept two of her offspring, brothers Scotty and Tanner, and all four of them have become an indispensable part of our family. Recently Roswell Code Enforcement found otherwise, declared our ownership of four dogs to constitute a kennel and demanded that one of our dogs be removed pending the outcome of a court date later this month.

According to chapter 8, article 1, section 7 of the Roswell, GA municipal code, any residence in which there are four or more domestic dogs constitutes a kennel regardless of whether or not the owner intends to sell any of the dogs. As such, our only option is to somehow separate one of two pairs of siblings, who have spent their entire lives together under one roof, unless we can convince the city council to amend the relevant section of the municipal code (8.1.7) to reflect the true nature of kennels - as a for-profit dog breeding operation, rather than as any family with one more dog than the city allows.

Without action on behalf of the Roswell City Council, the body responsible for amending the city code, our family will be split apart. Support our fight to keep our family together by signing this petition; doing so will send a clear message to city council members that the word of the law is not in keeping with its intent.