Article

New large dog park opens in Meridian Township

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The entrance to the Meridian Large Dog Park, located at 1990 Central Park Dr. in Okemos, is open to residents of the township and non-residents. Online registration is now available for Meridian Township’s dog parks, including a new off-leash large dog park. The new park, which opened in September, is located behind the mall at Central Park South. The large dog park is for dogs over 30 pounds, while the small dog park, which opened June 2019, is located at Nancy Moore Park at 1960 Gaylord C Smith Ct., East Lansing, is for dogs under 30 pounds. About 100 dogs registered for the large dog park and 250 registered for the small dog park, said Parks and Recreation Director LuAnn Meisner. 

Annual park fee

According to a press release, owners registering their dog will pay an annual fee to maintain the parks’ high standards.

News

New animal abuse laws in Michigan

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Starting this month, new legislation in Michigan will more than double the penalty for heinous crimes involving animals. “We do have a lot of cases where an animal is either strangled to the point of defecating on itself or passing out or severely maned so their ears are cut, or they’re beaten with a bat… maybe tied up by their leash,” said Ingham County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nattalie Macomber. The state of Michigan is taking a stand against these types of crimes with stricter penalties and Macomber believes this is a good time to start changing the narrative. “The culture is really changing and the education about what animal abuse actually is has really evolved in the last few years,” she said.

animal science

MSU club prepares dogs for their future

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Some dogs here on campus are like students, training for their future careers. Whitney Chandler is a senior at MSU and Vice President of Leader Dog Club (LDC). “I’m currently raising Finn, he’s six months, he’s a black lab,” she said. Finn is no ordinary puppy. When he’s older he will lead the blind.

Greater Lansing Community News

A rise in dog flu

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The state of Michigan saw an increase in cases of dog flu this year. More than 160 cases were reported in the state. Dr. Stephen Carey, a professor in small animal clinical sciences in the college of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University, said compared to last year, this year’s increase was fairly strong. “In climates like Michigan, where we have really harsh winters, that tends to be more frequent over the summer,” Dr. Carey said. According to the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter, the flu infection started out in southeast Michigan in the Detroit area.

Diversity Issues

Dogowners can sue for emotional distress, judge rules

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — The owners of a dog shot and seriously wounded by a Corrections Department investigator can sue the state for emotional distress and mental anguish damages under federal civil rights law, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain rejected the state’s argument that the owners, Erica Moreno and Katti Putman, would be entitled only to economic damages if they prove that the investigator acted unconstitutionally. The investigator, Ronald Hughes, several state troopers and a Flint police officer on a multiagency team went to the wrong house in Flint while searching for a fugitive in June 2014, according to court documents. They had an arrest warrant for the fugitive. Hughes mistakenly went into the backyard of the fugitive’s next-door neighbors, where he saw 58-pound Clohe, a 15-year-old pit bull mix, coming out the door and shot her in the face, the decision said.