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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Animal Matter Hearing Board Meeting - May 5, 2026

County Commissioners & Boards — Tuesday, May 5, 2026

BodyCharles County, Maryland

SessionCounty Commissioners & Boards

DateTuesday, May 5, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 26:27

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:29

Good

Speaker 1

0:29

evening.

0:30

The Animal Matter Hearing Board of May 5th will now come to order.

0:34

The board has received and reviewed the minutes from the April 21st date.

0:39

If there are no corrections, I will entertain a motion that the minutes be approved.

Speaker 2

0:45

I move to approve the minutes.

Speaker 1

0:48

All those in favor?

0:52

Due to the serious nature of these cases, the proceedings are being recorded electronically.

0:57

Please turn off your cell phones and observe proper decorum.

1:00

Decisions are based on the quality and credibility of evidence and testimony offered, not the number of witnesses.

1:06

All decisions of the board are final and may only be reviewed by the circuit court if an appeal is filed within 30 days in accordance with the Maryland rules of procedure.

1:15

Please be mindful of the code of civility and refrain from any name calling and offensive language.

1:20

Testimony will be limited to three minutes and only relevant to the animal matter proceeding.

1:25

Board starting from a right, please introduce yourself.

Speaker 3

1:32

William Johnson, board member.

Speaker 4

1:34

Sergeant Cooney, Charles County Sheriff's Office Board Member.

Speaker 1

1:37

Vice Chair Christie Montgomery.

1:39

Christine Gonzalez, board member.

Speaker 4

1:41

James Sherman,

Speaker 2

1:42

board member.

Speaker 5

1:43

Dr.

1:43

Michelle Quigley, veterinarian practicing in the county board member.

Speaker 6

1:47

Linda Price, Clerk.

Speaker 7

1:50

Mark Potter, uh staff attorney.

Speaker 8

1:56

Karen Williams, board member.

Speaker 1

1:59

Madam Clerk, whenever you're ready.

Speaker 6

2:01

Okay, the first item on our agenda this evening is Animal Control Services versus Kayla.

2:07

Kellette Blesko, which is citation 7543.

2:14

Please raise your right hand.

2:16

Do you declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

Speaker 9

2:20

I do.

Speaker 6

2:20

Please state your name for the record.

Speaker 9

2:21

Officer Cheyenne Boo, Charles County Animal Control, batch number 534.

Unassigned speaker

2:25

I'll

Speaker 1

2:26

serve whenever you're ready, ma'am.

Speaker 9

2:28

On Tuesday, April 14th of 2026, at approximately 09, 23 hours, Miss Tanisha Hicks contacted the Charles County Sheriff's Office regarding a dog bite that occurred the day before on April 13th.

2:40

I spoke to Miss Hicks by phone, who advised her nine-year-old daughter was bitten by the neighbor's pit bull type canine.

Speaker 6

3:21

Hi.

3:22

Please raise your right hand.

3:24

Do you declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

Speaker 10

3:29

Yes, ma'am.

Speaker 6

3:30

Please state your name for the record.

Speaker 10

3:32

Tanisha Dominique kicks.

3:57

And I grabbed my two kids, and I remember all the other kids was running.

4:00

I went to the house.

4:02

And she, you know, took my daughter to a hospital, and um my daughter had to be on antibiotics, and you know

Unassigned speaker

4:10

they

Speaker 10

4:11

didn't do

Unassigned speaker

4:12

uh

Speaker 10

4:12

what she was about to say.

Speaker 1

4:13

Who took your daughter?

Speaker 10

4:14

The lady, my neighborhood dog bit her.

4:16

Okay, okay.

4:17

Yeah, they gave us riot to a hospital because she kept apologize.

4:21

Say, you know, she sorry that you know the dog got out again and da-da-da-da-da.

Speaker 5

4:26

And yes.

Speaker 1

4:28

Does anyone have any questions for Ms.

4:29

Hicks?

4:30

Okay.

Speaker 3

4:31

How much of the interaction did you personally see?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Animal Welfare█████████████████████████████████████████████73%

Procedural██████████████22%

Legal Affairs███5%

Summary of Proceedings

Animal Matter Hearing Board Meeting - May 5, 2026

The Board convened on May 5, 2026, at 4:00 PM UTC to hear one citation case and discuss proposed animal control ordinance amendments from a prior administrative hearing. The meeting included testimony, deliberation, and votes on both items.

Consent Calendar

The board unanimously approved the minutes from the April 21, 2026 meeting.

Discussion Items

Citation 7543: Animal Control vs. Kayla Belasco – Officer Cheyenne Boo testified that on April 14, 2026, she investigated a dog bite complaint from April 13, 2026, involving a nine-year-old child bitten by a pit bull-type dog named Cash Joe owned by Kayla Belasco. The victim's mother, Tanisha Hicks, stated she witnessed the dog jump on her daughter and that urgent care and hospital classified it as a dog bite requiring antibiotics. Owner Kayla Belasco testified the dog did not bite but scratched the child, that the dog had previously chased children but never bitten, and that she lacked a dog license and proof of rabies vaccination due to a new job and lack of transportation. The board deliberated and found the dog was not at large because the owner was in hot pursuit, and not dangerous/vicious, but cited for license and rabies violations.
Ordinance Amendment Discussion – Board member William Johnson summarized the March 11, 2026 administrative hearing where the board agreed in principle to update several animal control ordinances: clarifying the leash law, adding explicit authority from state law, changing the definition of commercial animal establishment to include any number of animals and require microchipping, defining animal rescue, adding petting zoos, and recognizing dangerous/vicious designations from other counties. The board discussed next steps and voted to proceed to step two: having board attorney Mark Potter work with animal control to draft specific language for future consideration.

Key Outcomes

Citation 7543 Determination: The board found Kayla Belasco in violation of §230-10A (individual license, $50 fine) and §230-9A (failure to provide proof of rabies vaccination, $150 fine), and not in violation of §230-12 (animal at large) and §230-125 (dangerous and vicious animal). Total fines: $200, due within 30 days. Vote: 4 in favor, 2 opposed, 1 abstention.
Ordinance Amendments: The board approved the draft minutes of the March 11, 2026 administrative hearing. A motion to move forward with drafting ordinance language was passed unanimously, directing the county attorney and animal control to collaborate on specific proposals.
The meeting was adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. The Animal Matter Hearing Board of May 5th will now come to order. The board has received and reviewed the minutes from the April 21st date. If there are no corrections, I will entertain a motion that the minutes be approved. I move to approve the minutes. All those in favor? Due to the serious nature of these cases, the proceedings are being recorded electronically. Please turn off your cell phones and observe proper decorum. Decisions are based on the quality and credibility of evidence and testimony offered, not the number of witnesses. All decisions of the board are final and may only be reviewed by the circuit court if an appeal is filed within 30 days in accordance with the Maryland rules of procedure. Please be mindful of the code of civility and refrain from any name calling and offensive language. Testimony will be limited to three minutes and only relevant to the animal matter proceeding. Board starting from a right, please introduce yourself. William Johnson, board member. Sergeant Cooney, Charles County Sheriff's Office Board Member. Vice Chair Christie Montgomery. Christine Gonzalez, board member. James Sherman, board member. Dr. Michelle Quigley, veterinarian practicing in the county board member. Linda Price, Clerk. Mark Potter, uh staff attorney. Karen Williams, board member. Madam Clerk, whenever you're ready. Okay, the first item on our agenda this evening is Animal Control Services versus Kayla. Kellette Blesko, which is citation 7543. Please raise your right hand. Do you declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give is the truth? I do. Please state your name for the record. Officer Cheyenne Boo, Charles County Animal Control, batch number 534. I'll serve whenever you're ready, ma'am. On Tuesday, April 14th of 2026, at approximately 09, 23 hours, Miss Tanisha Hicks contacted the Charles County Sheriff's Office regarding a dog bite that occurred the day before on April 13th. I spoke to Miss Hicks by phone, who advised her nine-year-old daughter was bitten by the neighbor's pit bull type canine. Hi. Please raise your right hand. Do you declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give is the truth? Yes, ma'am. Please state your name for the record. Tanisha Dominique kicks. And I grabbed my two kids, and I remember all the other kids was running. I went to the house. And she, you know, took my daughter to a hospital, and um my daughter had to be on antibiotics, and you know they didn't do uh what she was about to say.

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