While owning twenty cats may be a goal of some students, it is sadly unrealistic. There is a limit in Lake Zurich to the number and type of pets one can legally own.

“As far as in LZ, you’re not allowed to have more than three dogs or three cats over the age of four months,” Mark Frey, local police officer, said. “But I think that’s more for if you’re breeding. You’re not allowed to have them for more than four months.”

The police department does not search for and pursue violations of the pet ownership rules, the punishments only occur when a violation is brought to their attention, according to Frey.

“In Lake Zurich, you can’t raise and keep pigs, cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and other farm animals. You also can’t have domesticated chickens, geese, ducks, or other wild animals,” Frey said.

There have been situations where horses escaped from their barns in Old McHenry and run until eventually they reach the roads of Lake Zurich, according to Frey.

“Obviously laws, rules, and ordinances are put in to ensure that everything is equal for everybody,” Frey said. “If there were no restrictions on [pet ownership] we could have people selling dogs or cats all over the place out of their house.”

Frey speaks first-hand from experiences he has had with animal hoarding situations along with animal breeding.

“A number of years ago we had a resident who had a bunch of chinchillas. There was dead ones, and it was like a health hazard,” Frey said. “At that point building and zoning comes. We had them in the freezer, it was very weird. It was like a hoarder situation.”

With pets ranging from cats to chinchillas, some believe regulations and laws are an important part of a town.

“I think it’s good to have laws to keep people in check,” Frey said. “It’s not something we go out and look for because I’m sure with some people those laws get borderline broke, but I think it’s there as a benchmark, if anything to keep people regulated.”