A Lackawanna County Court judge heard Tuesday Scranton’s injunction lawsuit claiming a resident having 10 or more cane corso breed of mastiff guard dogs at once at his home constitutes a public nuisance and his kennel business violates the residential zoning of the property.
Assistant city Solicitor Mariclare Hayes asked Judge Mark Powell to require the owner of the dogs, John Dodge, of 421 Campbell St., to surrender or “rehome” all but two of the dogs and prove with documentation that those two are spayed or neutered.
Powell did not immediately rule from the bench after the approximately 50-minute-long hearing but said he intends to issue a decision promptly.
Dodge did not attend the hearing and efforts to reach him afterward were unsuccessful.
The dispute between the city and Dodge over citations he has ignored has been brewing for several months, while tension between Dodge and his neighbors over the dogs has been ongoing for about two years, shortly after he began keeping, breeding and selling the dogs, according to court testimony.
The lawsuit says the city zoning ordinance caps at six the number of pets over 3 months old allowed on a residential property of an acre or less. The number of canines at the 421 Campbell St. property has varied, but city officials have seen “no less than 10” full-grown cane corso mastiffs and believe their numbers have reached as high as 25.
Barking, the stink from excessive dog feces and safety concerns about the large dogs occasionally running loose disrupt the neighborhood, particularly neighbors Dawn and David Hafner of 2426 Pittston Ave. They have lived there 23 years and their backyard abuts Dodge’s rear deck and yard, Dawn Hafner testified.
Dodge moved in to 421 Campbell St. around January 2021 and around February 2023 got two dogs and eventually more over the years, and he currently has about 10, she testified.
Her testimony also included that: the two largest male dogs each weigh about 150 pounds, while females weigh about half of that; the dogs hang over the deck railing directly into Hafner’s yard; Dodge’s routine hosing of dog feces off of his deck causes the excrement to wash into Hafner’s yard; and excessive feces and urine in Dodge’s yard also stink up the neighborhood.
“It’s been very stressful,” living next to Dodge and his dogs, Hafner testified.
The city on Jan. 2 issued a zoning violation to Dodge for having more dogs than allowed in a residential zone on less than an acre. After no response or appeal by Dodge, the city filed the injunction suit May 19.
Dodge has done nothing to remediate the situation and has not appealed the zoning violation, and he has not sought a variance to operate a kennel, city Planner Don King, who is the city’s director of planning and zoning, testified.
King testified that Dodge’s property is “too small and it’s too close to other residences” to operate a kennel, and he sells the dogs via a website and social media, thus operating a business in a residential zone. King also testified that Dodge’s wife in January indicated they intended to move and take the dogs with them.
Dodge also has not responded to citations and fines issued by the city’s animal control officer regarding a lack of dog licenses and rabies vaccinations, the lawsuit claims.
Hayes asked Animal Control Officer Katie Gallone if she had any concerns about safety regarding the dogs.
“Absolutely. I don’t think it’s an if, but a when. A number of these dogs together could harm humans. Dogs that size need some pretty serious handling and training,” but they’re not getting it, Gallone testified.
According to the American Kennel Club, the cane corso breed is smart, trainable and a “peerless protector.” The corso’s “noble” Italian lineage dates to ancient Rome and the breed’s name roughly translates from Latin as “bodyguard dog.”
“At nearly 28 inches at the shoulder and often weighing more than 100 pounds, with a large head, alert expression and muscles rippling beneath their short, stiff coat, corsi are at a glance intimidating creatures. Their imposing appearance is their first line of defense against intruders,” according to an AKC description. “Corsi are intelligent, loyal, eager to please, versatile and intensely loyal to their humans, but (they) are also assertive and willful, and can end up owning an unwitting owner. As with any other big guardian dog, responsible breeding and early socialization with people and other dogs is vital.”
A photo of several cane corso mastiff dogs on a rear deck of 421 Campbell St. in Scranton, as taken from a neighboring home at 2426 Pittson Ave. (COPY OF PHOTO / COURTESY OF DAWN HAFNER)
A photo of several cane corso mastiff dogs on a rear deck of 421 Campbell St. in Scranton, as taken from a neighboring home at 2426 Pittson Ave. (COPY OF PHOTO / COURTESY OF DAWN HAFNER)
A photo of several cane corso mastiff dogs on a rear deck of 421 Campbell St. in Scranton, as taken from a neighboring home at 2426 Pittson Ave. (COPY OF PHOTO / COURTESY OF DAWN HAFNER)
A photo of several cane corso mastiff dogs on a rear deck of 421 Campbell St. in Scranton, as taken from a neighboring home at 2426 Pittson Ave. (COPY OF PHOTO / COURTESY OF DAWN HAFNER)
John Dodge’s home, on the left at 421 Campbell St. in Scranton, and the home of neighbor Dawn Hafner, on the right, at 2426 Pittston Ave. were referenced Tuesday, May 27, 2025 in Lackawanna County Court during a hearing in an injunction lawsuit by the city of Scranton against Dodge to get a court order to have him surrender most of his several cane corso mastiff dogs, and keep two that are spayed or neutered. The city’s suit claims the keeping of 10 or more of the dogs at any given time violates the residential zoning and has created a public nuisance in noise, smell, excessive feces and concerns about safety. A judge did not immediately rule on the injunction request. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)