Pet Owner Doggedly Appeals, Is Cleared

BISMARCK, N.D. —  In a ruling that took the bite out of a city ordinance, the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a man who was fined $50 for allowing his dog to run free.

The high court on Tuesday unanimously reversed a conviction, handed down by a municipal court in Bismarck and upheld by a county court, saying that prosecutors had presented no evidence that the pet owner had known of the violation.

David Sholy of Bismarck had been convicted of violating a city ordinance that made it “unlawful for any owner or keeper of a dog to permit the animal to be at large.”