BLUE EARTH – The Blue Earth City Council on Monday once again discussed some dog issues.

At a previous meeting, the council had designated two dogs as potentially dangerous.

On Monday, the council held a second potentially dangerous dog designation hearing for the same two animals. This time, the dogs’ owners were present to try to convince the council their animals are not dangerous or vicious, but, in fact, docile and friendly.

Mindy Nagel, owner of Tia, and Jesus Lopez, owner of Armani, had prepared statements about the incident in question for the council, as well as letters from neighbors and friends saying there has never been an issue with either dog.

They also suggested the situation was not as bad as had been stated previously, as the owner of the other dog involved had not reported it to police for three days.

The other dog’s owner, Jean Redman, was also at the meeting and said she had been walking by the house with her dog when Nagel’s and Lopez’s dogs came out of the house and went after her dog. One of them had her dog by the neck, she said.

The council discussed the situation at some length and decided not to change its original decision to designate both animals as potentially dangerous dogs.

Mayor Rick Scholtes said whether the two dogs actually harmed the smaller dog is not the question.

“If a dog is loose, not leashed, and leaves the owners property and goes up to a person or another pet, they can be designated potentially dangerous,” Scholtes said. “They don’t have to actually attack any person or animal.”

The mayor also pointed out that any animal designated as potentially dangerous will only have that designation for one year, if there are no more incidents during that time.

In other business, the council:

o Passed a resolution ordering street improvements for the West Industrial Park slated for this summer. The council held a public hearing on the project at its last meeting and heard no objections.