UPPER FREEHOLD: Tragedy sparks debate on electronic pet fences

By Jane Meggitt, Special Writer
   UPPER FREEHOLD — When Hurricane Sandy hit, knocking out electric power in town for more than a week, dog owners who relied solely on electronic fences could no longer contain their pets inside their yards. And in at least one instance, the consequences were tragic.
   At the last Township Committee meeting, Deputy Mayor Steve Alexander discussed the Nov. 8 fatal attack on pet cat by two loose dogs in the Lynwood Estates neighborhood and whether the town needs to better regulate electronic fences.
   According to the report signed by NJ State Trooper David Calpini, the cat belonging to Susan Townsend was killed in Mrs. Townsend’s yard on Lonnie Drive by two large dogs owned by Kip Moench of Cliffwood Drive.
   Mrs. Townsend told the trooper her cat always stayed on her property, but when it hadn’t returned home by 10 p.m. she went out to look for it and found the cat dead in her front yard with two dogs standing over it. Mrs. Townsend said the “dogs were growling and acting aggressively toward her an her husband,” the report says.
   Trooper Calpini’s report states he went to see Mr. Moench, who said his Native American Indian dogs had been outside, but his electronic fence wasn’t working because the power was out. Mr. Moench told the trooper he had looked for his dogs after they left his property, but couldn’t find them.
   ”I advised him he needs to take other methods to secure his dogs when they are let outside so they cannot leave the property,” the trooper wrote in his report.
   Pets in yards with electronic, instead of traditional fences, wear special collars with a battery-operated radio receiver that picks up a signal if the animal gets too close to an underground wire that delineates the yard’s boundary. If the animal gets too close to the buried wire, the collar emits a beeping sound that only the dog can hear. If the dog continues to approach the boundary it will receive a mild corrective electric shock through two prongs on the underside of the collar.
   Electronic fences don’t work during a power outage (or if the battery in the dog’s collar runs down).
   Mr. Alexander said some Upper Freehold homeowners have installed electronic fences that are as close as 3 feet to the sidewalk in front of their houses, which means anyone walking by is subjected to the frightening experience of a seemingly loose dog charging at them.
   Some large dogs are able to actually run through the electronic fence, even though the power is on and the batteries in their collar are working, because they’ve learned the shock stops after they quickly cross the invisible boundary.
   Mr. Alexander said he had a Great Pyrenees named Heidi, who died four years ago, that was able to break through an electronic fence even though the dog’s shock collar was set to the highest level the manufacturer recommended. The electric fence, he noted, was his “second line of containment.” His family also had a wooden fence to serve as the “first line of containment,” but Heidi was an escape artist who could dig underneath the regular fence and then run through the electric fence, he said. (His current dog, Dash, is a “good boy” who is not bent on escaping, he said.).
   ”Most people that use the electric fence – that is it for them,” Mr. Alexander said on Saturday. “They don’t have the physically fenced-in yard and most allow their dogs to come to the front of their property and some not far away from the sidewalk,” Mr. Alexander said. “You need another line of containment besides the electric fence because if a dog wants to get through the electric fence – it will.
   ”I’ve seen it time and time again, with big, medium and small dogs, especially walking my dog past them,” Mr. Alexander said. “They’re dogs. It’s only natural. It’s nothing against the dog.”
   At last month’s meeting, Mr. Alexander said he would like to see an ordinance in place revising where electric fences could be installed.
   Stiffer penalties should also be imposed on dog owners whose pets often run loose around neighborhoods, he said. Right now, the maximum penalty is $100, he said. Mr. Alexander said he would like to see a maximum fine of $2,000 for repeat offenders, depending on the severity of the situation.
   Earlier this year, a dog belonging to Committeeman Robert Frascella, who lives in the Woods at Cream Ridge, was attacked at a property that uses an electronic fence containment system for its dogs. Dr. Frascella’s dog has since recovered.
   Mr. Alexander said traditional fences are better, especially in rural areas like Upper Freehold subject to frequent power outages.
   ”Fences are good things,” Mr. Alexander said. “I don’t think electronic fences (alone) are good for dogs or residents.”
   According to township officials, Mr. Moench has told Jackson Animal Control that he is looking into installing a traditional fence to be used in conjunction with his electronic fence.