Western Springs to look into invisible fences following complaint

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:40AM

Even though they are behind invisible fences, Western Springs resident Steve Greska said some people in the area have aggressive dogs, which can not only be startling, but intimidating to him and other residents as they pass by.

“These dogs run all the way down to the sidewalk and then they’ll stop because of this invisible fence,” Greska told the Village Board Monday. “It seems to me though that people should be able to walk down the street without fear of these dogs coming down.”

Greska said he is a frequent jogger around Western Springs and said the dogs are not on leashes, but are on the property. He said he also knows sometimes electric fences do not always hold the dogs.

“Maybe the village should have an opinion on it if you’re going to have a more aggressive dog and it’s in the front yard,” he said.

Village President William Rodeghier said the problem could be people do not know their dogs are acting this aggressive to others going by, but at the same time it is not right that Greska had to come to a board meeting to complain. He said he would have the general government committee look into the issue, but also told Greska to report frequent problems with a specific house to the Police Department.

“The problem too is you don’t necessarily know if there’s an invisible fence there,” said Trustee Patrick Higgins.

“They say they have an invisible fence, but it’s very startling,” Greska said.