A ground swell of protest is building over a Fayette County law that limits the number of dogs a resident can own, according to protester Lynn Henning.

Henning will address the County Commission Thursday, and will present a petition signed by a growing number of dog owners, she said.

"I'm making people aware of this ordinance who never knew it existed," Henning told The Citizen this week. "There are a lot of violators out there."

A county ordinance states that anyone owning more than three dogs must be licensed as a kennel and keep the animals in a kennel facility. That would be impossible in a residential neighborhood. Kennels are not allowed only in residential zoning districts.

Henning said she will be able to meet the criteria and establish a kennel, and her request for a license is on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting. But she doesn't want to coop up her pets in a kennel.

"I have indoor dogs, outdoor dogs... I spent a lot of money on an invisible fence, and the cheapest dog I have is $650," said Henning, adding that she has 11 dogs in all, including six Siberian huskies, three great Danes and two border collies. She also owns several cats, but said she is working find homes for the felines.

"I came from a family that had a lot of animals," she said. "I was raised in the country."

She said she also will offer evidence that her son, who has emotional disabilities, is dependent on the pets. She started bringing more pets into her home, Henning said, shortly after she was divorced and her father died within a six-month period.

"I don't want my children to go through life without the pets," she said. "I love them."

After being cited by county marshals for having so many animals on her property, which serves as both home and business, Henning addressed the commission at its May 13 meeting and asked them to consider revising the law. Commission Chairman Harold Bost said the board would "take it under advisement."

Since then, she said, she has been canvassing animal owners at veterinarians' offices and at her business, Covered in Blooms, a wholesale flower company, and has gathered hundreds of names on a petition.

"We're adding about a page a day," she said Monday.

But Henning said she doesn't just want to protest. She also is offering a solution that will allow people to keep their pets and yet prevent the overpopulation of stray animals that the ordinance was written to prevent.

"They should make it where, if I want to have four animals, I can pay a fee that's going to make people be conscientious. If they can afford veterinarian bills, they can afford the fee," she said. A fee of $100 or $150 per animal over three should do it, she said.

"That would add income to the county, and keep people honest," she said.