Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton

Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton says that if anything, it's the tarp covering the mural she commissioned that's causing her the biggest problems now.

"The tarp makes it look like my business is still under construction," she said outside a courtroom in the U.S. District Court for Virginia's Eastern District today.

Hougton was forced to cover the mural after Arlington County ruled it was an illegal sign advertising her business. She got no immediate answer on the tarp issue today, though, as a federal judge said she would take more time before ruling on an injunction motion Houghton filed in December that would allow her to remove the cover.

Houghton is suing Arlington County and zoning administrator Melinda Artman over what she claims is an infringement on her First Amendment rights. The doggy day care and pet grooming business owner commissioned a mural on her building that faces the Shirlington Dog Park, but zoning inspectors made her cover it with a tarp, claiming the mural is an illegal sign.

Houghton's attorneys and attorneys for Arlington County made arguments on the injunction today before Judge Leonie Brinkema. Also on the table was Arlington's motion to dismiss the case. The county has argued that Houghton's case has no merit because municipalities have the authority to regulate commercial signs, and because she has not proven that Arlington's law governing signs discriminates based on content.

Judge Brinkema probed attorneys for the county on the reasoning behind Arlington's regulation of commercial signs — for public safety reasons and to "avoid visual clutter," said Assistant County Attorney Carol McCoskrie — and on the difference in treatment between commercial signs and artistic murals.

The judge also began her questioning with an issue at the heart of the case: Houghton's motivations for painting the mural. Her attorney, Robert Frommer of the Institute for Justice, told the judge his client's motivation was "simply her love of dogs, and the dog park," and a desire to do something nice for those that use the park.

The judge said she passed by the shop and the covered mural, and commented that the business's sign is done in a similar style as the mural. "It's advertising. It's getting out your brand," Brinkema said. "So why not, as the county has suggested, change the mural to reflect flowers, or vines, or something else?" the judge said.

Frommer argued that such a change would violate Houghton's right to free speech. He's also argued that the mural doesn't constitute advertising for Houghton's business. "The mere nexus of subject matter between a sign and a business does not constitute advertising," he said.

The judge told attorneys for both sides she would need more time to review the motions, and that she would try to release a ruling on both motions as soon as she can.

Frommer said after the hearing that he was encouraged by the judge's questions. "We're very heartened by the judge's questions," Frommer said. "She seems to understand the important First Amendment issue at hand, which is that Arlington County can't condition Kim's right to earn a living."