Council puts more teeth in ordinance on vicious dogs

WASHINGTON - The Washington City Council and police department have continued working on revising the animal control ordinance. With the recent addition of veterinary advice, council members feel 'much more comfortable” about approving it.

On Tuesday, the council discussed a revised version of the animal control ordinance and approved the second reading. In addition to the changes already made, veterinarian Wendy Miller of Town and Country Veterinary Clinic offered her comments.

Council member Steve Gault said with the additional information the city is 'miles ahead” compared to the last discussion.

Council members Fran Stigers and Danielle Pettit-Majewski voiced appreciation for the comments from Miller.

'I'm much more comfortable with the ordinance in this position than where we were before,” Pettit-Majewski said.

Miller recommended:

' Specific definitions of a dangerous dog,

' Wolves and coyotes as illegal animals,

' Specific clarification of minimum confinement not applying to veterinarians, kennels and boarding establishments.

' Additional information on quarantining animals at home,

' Additional information on disposal of infected animals.

Previously, the council discussed updating the city ordinances to give the police chief more discretion to settle situations before it is appealed to the City Council. The changes add more specific definitions as well as add more decision-making options for the police chief.

One of the new additions to the code is a more specific definition of a vicious animal.

The new addition states a vicious animal means the animal has attacked or bitten someone:

' Without provocation.

' While running at large.

' When the propensity to attack or bite any person or animal exists and such propensity is known to the owner or the peace officer based upon past or present conduct, or should have been reasonably known to the owner.

The last option has four other criteria:

' Has bitten or attacked a person or animal on two separate occasions within a 12-month period.

' Did bite or attack once causing bodily injury that resulted in medical or veterinary care.

' Did bite or attack once causing injuries above the shoulders of a person.

' Could not be controlled or restrained at the time of attack to prevent the occurrence.

When dealing with a vicious animal, two new options have been added for the police chief to order.

Originally, the code stated the owner of the animal should remove the animal from city limits or have it destroyed.

Now the police chief can:

' Require the owner of the animal to provide evidence that the owner has sufficient liability insurance, the ability to provide reasonable care for the animal and keep it confined in a manner that will prevent future incidents.

' Take precautionary measures, including, but not limited to, muzzling the animal, provide the animal with specialized training within a reasonable time and to require that the animal be restrained when off the premises, all as ordered by the police chief.

The animal neglect or cruelty section was added to, creating more definition to what animal neglect or cruelty. Originally, a section regarding appropriate tethering rules was removed, but at the request of council members it was added back.

The edited code can be viewed in the Feb. 17 council packet on WashingtonIowa.gov. Sections in red text were added, sections with red text and gray highlight were added by Miller and struck through text has been removed.

A final version of the code will be presented during the third reading.