Kennel

The Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a request from Carolyn Cornwell for a conditional use for a kennel to house 10 dogs or less at asite in the 3500 block of Nicholson Road.The property is zoned agriculture and kennels are allowed as conditional uses. The Cornwellsown four golden retrievers and asked for the conditional use to comply with the zoning ordinance.Approval was granted on condition that: no more than four dogs beallowed; no commercial boarding, breeding or grooming be done; no business identification sign be displayed; and the use be restricted tothe Cornwells.

The Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club, Inc. offers a $3,000 scholarship for the first place applicant toward the field of animal sciences. Qualified scholarship applications are taken through June 1 and reviewed by the Scholarship Committee. The winner will be announced by Aug. 1. The scholarship is generally awarded by the second week of August. If interested in receiving a scholarship application and a copy of the guidelines, please contact Norma Skillman, scholarship chair, at 410-273-7996.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has authorized a conditional use for a kennel for not more than 10 dogs in the 1200 block of Hughes Shop Road.Dennis Ray Britton made the request to keep his Siberian huskies and Rottweilers, which he and his wife raise for show. The kennels will be kept on a 3.1-acre lot that has four shelters with exercise pens for the dogs.At a March 24 hearing, several neighbors opposed the kennel because of noise, odor and vehicular traffic, as well as the threat to residents if the dogs got loose.

Oh holy snuggly, cuddly, chubby, Swiss mountain cuteness! This Saint Bernard puppy is playing with its mother Phybie at the Saint-Bernard kennel in Martigny, Switzerland. The kennel is the oldest breeding center for the Swiss dogs. The puppy is one of four born on December 18.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a request for a conditional use for a kennel in Hampstead.Jack and Betsey Leonard of the 2800 block of Hampstead-Mexico Road requested authorization to expand their kennel to hold more than 10 dogs. They applied previously to build an addition, but were halted by financial problems.The board approved the request on the condition that the kennel be insulated for sound. Health Department approval also must be obtained.FiresHampstead: Firefighters from Hampstead and Arcadia responded at 4: 28 p.m. Sunday to a field fire in the 3800 block of St. Paul Road.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has denied a Sykesville couple's request to open a kennel at their home in the 4500 block of Old Washington Road.Richard A. and Carole A. Baillet wanted to open a kennel to house a maximum of 10 dogs on their 7.5-acre lot. The couple owns five adult Rottweilers. Neighbors opposed the kennel.In denying the request, the board said the Baillets failed to prove that the kennel would not pose a threat to public safety, and ruled that barking dogs would disrupt the neighborhood and jeopardize property values.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has ruled that Kelly Bair may open a kennel on her property in the 4500 block of Old Hanover Pike, north of Deep Run.Ms. Bair plans to breed and raise Doberman pinschers, German shepherds and collies to sell. She may keep no more than seven adult dogs at one time, the board ruled.She plans to train dogs at the site, but will not have a commercial boarding or grooming business.FIRE* Lineboro: Engines from Lineboro, Hampstead and Manchester assisted Baltimore County at a building fire in the 19400 block of Gunpowder Road at 1:45 a.m. Friday.

The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals has given Christopher E. Richardson, of the 3900 block of Hawks Hill Road in New Windsor, permission to open a kennel.The board imposed five restrictions on the operation, which is on the west side of Hawks Hill Road about a quarter-mile west of Hoke Road. Mr. Richardson has lived on the property for eight years. He raises rabbit beagles.He must adhere to these restrictions:* No more than six adult beagles may be housed at the kennel.* No breeding is allowed.

Joan G. Miller, who formerly owned a Woodlawn kennel, died Saturday of a neurological disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, at the Jewish Convalescent and Nursing Home in Pikesville. She was 74. Until she gave up her business about 25 years ago, she bred and groomed cocker spaniels, poodles, Yorkshire terriers and chihuahuas at JoJax Kennels on Dogwood Road, a business she owned and operated with her husband, Jerome "Jack" Miller, whom she married in 1947. He died in 1999. Family members said her dogs won awards at the Westminster Kennel Club shows in New York, among other competitions.

Yuppie puppies don't go to kennels when their owners are away. Classy canines can go to camp in Uniontown.Camp Yuppie Puppy opened a few weeks ago on a 108-acre farm, off Uniontown Road. Pedigreed pets and mutts of diverse lineages can hang up their leashes at the 12-"room" facility, where owners can board their dogs for a night or a week or more.Pups may arrive at their shaggiest and get an appointment for a dip and clip with one of three groomers during their stay. Customers can select the most suitable hair styles from a wall full of snapshots of well-groomed customers.

Despite taking two dogs to the country's most prestigious dog show and doubling her chances of success, a Perry Hall woman on Tuesday was unable to advance in the competition. Lisl Dutterer had entered her champion Samoyeds Halo and Easter in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show with hopes that one of them could win best of breed and compete on live television for the working-class trophy against Siberian huskies, boxers, Great Danes and mastiffs. But neither Halo nor Easter made it past the breed round.

A 37-year-old animal control officer was shot and wounded Tuesday night shortly after he investigated a report that dogs were being kept illegally in a South Baltimore house and had seized a dog from another residence in a separate call, according to city officials. Jermaine Barnes, who has been on the job for four years, was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center for a gunshot wound to his hand and released. Mayor Sheila Dixon visited him while he was at the hospital. Police have not made any arrests, but the city's chief police spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said detectives "are trying to figure out if it was related to the course of his duty or if it was random gunfire."

After a couple of weeks of nonstop jocks-as-jerks news, I'd just about had it with athletes. Whether it was our own bong-inhaling Olympic swimmer, or the New York Yankees' 'roid-injecting A-Rod, I was ready to swear off following the fortunes of these physically gifted yet mentally suspect sportsmen. But then, just in the nick of time, an unlikely champion came along to make me believe again. Waddling rather than striding to victory Tuesday night, on four short legs instead of two long and lithe ones, he was stumpy rather than studly.

Part of Erie Street closed for bridge construction project The Maryland Transportation Authority has closed Erie Street between Juniata Street and U.S. 40 in Havre de Grace for the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge preservation project. During the work, there will be no access to U.S. 40 at the site. The project is expected to take three years. Erie Street will remain open to local traffic and residents may access it from eastbound U.S. 40. Signs will be posted for detour routes. The closure is necessary to reduce traffic using Erie Street to the bridge.

Melbourne T.L. Downing Sr., a retired lawyer and businessman who was also a longtime American Kennel Club judge, died of heart failure Monday at the Presbyterian Home of Maryland in Towson. The former Timonium resident was 94. Mr. Downing was born and raised in Baltimore. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1930, he joined his father's company, Frank Downing Inc., a Baltimore brick and block construction company. The company later became a general contracting firm. Mr. Downing earned a law degree from the University of Baltimore Law School in 1943 and practiced estate law until retiring in 2000.

Baltimore County Council members rejected last night a measure that would have placed the region's toughest restrictions on pit bull owners, siding with dog owners who argued that singling out the breed would be unfair and likely ineffective. By a 6-1 vote, the council killed a proposal that would have required pit bull owners to keep their dogs in concrete-based kennels and post warning signs on their lawns. The author of the proposal, Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, was the only member to vote in favor of it. The proposal, like others across the country, met ardent criticism from dog owners and animal-rights groups, who said laws that single out breeds violate owners' rights and prove costly, while failing to prevent pit bull attacks.

A decision by a Baltimore County zoning official allowing construction of a kennel in an exclusive Green Spring Valley neighborhood has the property owner and project opponents claiming victory. Deputy Zoning Commissioner Timothy M. Kotroco ruled this week that Greta White and her daughter, Erika Lanasa, can build a kennel on their 6-acre property in the 7800 block of Greenspring Ave., just north of a Baltimore Beltway exit ramp. But Kotroco also said the kennel and its parking lot must fit on a 1,700-square-foot triangle of land on the property.

Mary Lynn Pretl Dougherty, an animal lover who owned Kildee Kennels on the Eastern Shore, died of lung and pancreatic cancer Aug. 23 at her home near Centreville. She was 55. Born Mary Lynn Pretl in Baltimore and raised in Hamilton, she attended St. Dominic parochial school and the Institute of Notre Dame, where she was a 1970 graduate. Family members said her free spirit often clashed with the school's rules and regulations. They also said that her devotion to needy animals became apparent at an early age. She sheltered stray kittens and injured birds.

A lover of Asian art and design, Thompson turned an unattractive backyard patio into a Japanese-themed garden -- complete with a dry stream bed and a dog kennel that resembles a Japanese tea house. Read about her garden and see more pictures tomorrow at baltimoresun.com / gardener.