By Maggie Voelzke and Morgan Ballangee
Dog breeders Jody Lynch and his partner Alayne Hartuniewicz might soon be out of business, but not out of dogs – with 26 in outdoor kennels, including two new litters and more puppies on the way.
The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors on Monday denied Coldwater Labs in Raphine its application to continue commercial operations, rejecting the proposal 5-0.
The small competition beagle and Labrador kennel had sought rezoning and a permit after neighbors complained that it was operating illegally in a residential zone. Earlier, the Planning Commission recommended denial as well.
Hartuniewicz, who has been involved with dog breeding for over 30 years, is frustrated by the rejection.
“We will keep our dogs no matter what,” she said in an interview at their home. The couple was unable to attend the hearing. “We are going to keep making litters. If we happen to have leftover puppies I will continue donating them to service organizations, or give them away to good homes.”
The primary business of the kennel is breeding and training American Kennel Club show-dogs while selling the high quality puppies is secondary. Dogs that are not sold or kept by the owners are donated to organizations such as The Wounded Warrior Project.
Hartuniewicz and Lynch moved into their Raphine home two years ago. At the time, they say, they believed the home had an Agricultural-2 zoning permit. Under such zoning, the breeders would be allowed to raise puppies for commercial sale. The couple also applied for a Special Exception permit that would allow them to sell puppies.
The dogs’ barking annoyed the neighbors, as one Raphine opponent, Vincent Capaccio, told the board at the hearing.
But the denial of the zoning permit will not stop this problem. The county has no limit on how many dogs a person may keep. Hartuniewicz said that, even without the requested zoning and special use permit, she has no plans for altering the number of dogs she keeps. She said she will make other arrangements for puppy raising and sales.
She hopes her neighbors “realize that what they were saying was really overshooting reality” and that they will re-consider their opinions of the kennel. Lynch explained that, prior to the neighbors’ taking matters to Planning Commission, neither he nor his partner had heard any complaints from neighbors. “Someone in the Zoning Commission said to me, when we were entering into this, that you would be shocked by what people will say about you, but not to you,” Lynch said.
Hartuniewicz plans to show her dogs for a year, after which she and Lynch intend to re-apply for the Agricultural-2 permit.
“Dogs are part of me,” she said.