A condition approved by the Chisago County Board of Commissioners Nov. 16, 2016, that owners of a pack of sled dogs build a structure to house them inside at night was not agreeable to the couple, so they decided to surrender their interim use permit.

The board accepted the surrender unanimously at its May 17 meeting without much discussion.

Ryan Anderson, a musher with 26 years of experience, and Missy Carpentier, a veterinary neurologist, came to the board in the fall of last year with a proposal to house the dogs on their 50-acre property off River Road in Sunrise Township. Their plan was to have 35 to 40 dogs kept at the property, but the permit allowed up to 55 dogs.

Having the dogs kept outside at the property when Anderson wasn’t racing or training them in northern Minnesota raised the eyebrows of some of the commissioners who thought noise could potentially be an issue for neighbors in the area.

“I have lived in the county almost my entire life, and in the past 15 years there are significantly more wolves howling at night and coyotes. … I know what that does to my dog, and I have a working dog. She’s not quiet when she hears that,” Commissioner Ben Montzka said at the Nov. 16 meeting. Anderson and Carpentier provided the board with a statement about the surrender of their permit:

“The county commissioners have set forth requirements in the interim use permit that negatively impact our dogs’ welfare. We will never knowingly place our dogs into a situation that will be detrimental to their quality of life. I strongly encourage the commissioners to educate themselves on the topic of a sled dog kennel before they make another family endure their hateful and negative comments on not only the dogs, but also what they ‘assume’ people involved with sled dogs are.’”