Soldier's Father in Dogfight With County

Fayetteville, N.C. — Cumberland County officials have given a local man two months to find accommodations for two dogs he has been keeping for his son, who is serving in the Army in Iraq.

Henry Carroll owns three dachshund-poodle mixes, and he took in two others when his son, Pvt. Adam Carroll, deployed eight months ago from Fort Campbell, Ky.

"These dogs are family dogs. I gave them to Adam," Carroll said. "He went to Sanford (and) said, 'I'm going to join the Army, Daddy. ... You have to keep my dogs.'"

A neighbor soon complained about the excess dogs, saying the animals often barked late at night.

Cumberland County limits residents to owning three dogs. Anybody with more than three needs to obtain a permit to operate a kennel.

"We're going to enforce the ordinance. We always have, and we don't really have a choice," Deputy Cumberland County Attorney Harvey Raynor said. "We're going to give him 60 days to comply before we take any kind of enforcement action."

Raynor said county officials took Adam Carroll's deployment into consideration. Usually, residents are given only 30 days to comply, he said.

"When you hear that military personnel is involved, you immediately look to see what can we do to accommodate these people," he said.

Carroll denied the dogs bark at night and said he doesn't think the county did enough for him and his son.

"This is supposed to be a military community, and (here) a soldier has to worry about the life of his dog as well as his own," he said.

Carroll must find someplace else for his son's two dogs. He said his choices are a shelter or the home of his ailing mother. He said he fears the dogs could be euthanized if he takes them to a shelter.

"I would rather take care of them to make sure they're taken care of," he said.

• UPDATE: Bryan Mims reports that people have overwhelmingly responded to Henry Carroll's plight. Volunteers have offered to keep two of his five dogs until his son returns from Iraq.