Michael Bowe is a father. He has put six daughters through school; the last three were UF graduates. Even 3,000-plus miles away in New York, he is there for them.
At a City Commission meeting today, he and his family will appeal a ruling that allows their neighbor, Bruce Baber, to watch dogs and make a profit for walking them. Or, as Bowe put it, run a business in a residential neighborhood.
“We didn’t want to make a big issue out of it,” he said. “We just want to appeal it.”
The Bowe family has owned the house at 1723 NW Seventh Ave. since 2005, and three of his daughters have resided there since then while attending UF.
Kristen, a graduate student, is the last daughter and lives there with a roommate. Bowe bought the house for his daughters because he was told it was in a safe neighborhood.
“People view us as outsiders, but we own the home,” he said.
Bowe said none of his family members noticed Baber’s dogs next door when they moved in.
After a few years, he said his daughters would call him and complain about the noise, smell and even fleas from the eight to 12 dogs Baber watched at certain times. He said he let it all slide until he heard a meeting was to be held concerning whether Baber could run the business. He decided to take matters into his own hands and appeal for his family.
But it isn’t anything personal, he said. Bowe and his family are not against Baber; they just want the law upheld.
“Our issue is very simple,” he said. “Because this is the code, we want it to be enforced.”
For now, he just wants a safe, quiet place for his daughter to live as she finishes graduate school.
