DeSOTO – Dog owners will soon have to pay for their roaming Rovers.

 

The City Council unanimously approved an amended ordinance Tuesday that will allow the city to fine dog owners up to $2,000 if their animals are running loose. The measure also will oust dogs from the city if they injure someone in an unprovoked attack outside their enclosure.

 

Police Chief Mike Brodnax, who led the process to revise the city ordinance, said it penalizes irresponsible pet owners.

 

"We're strictly targeting the bad dog owners," he said. "The intent is to make a hard impact on these dog owners that don't want to be accountable."

 

The owner of a loose dog will be fined $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second, $500 for the third and up to $2,000 for subsequent violations. After the first offense, a veterinarian will vaccinate and implant a microchip in the animal at the owner's expense; the dogs must then be registered with the city each year.

 

City leaders and the public called for changes to the ordinance after high-profile attacks last year. Chief Brodnax said several officers encountered vicious dogs, one of which had to be shot.

 

"Those are the animals we want to get out of the city," he said.

 

The city called public meetings to discuss the ordinance, and Chief Brodnax heard a recurring theme among residents.

 

"The dogs themselves are a victim of their raising, and therefore owners should be held accountable," he said.

 

Under the new rule, which goes into effect Oct. 1, dogs deemed dangerous by a judge after an attack would be ordered removed from the city or destroyed at the animal shelter. The old standard for a dog's removal was two attacks.

 

"I think the ordinance goes a long way in helping the situation across the board," Mayor Bobby Waddle said.

 

A new state law that goes into effect Sept. 1 reinforces the city's dangerous-dog ordinance, charging owners with a third-degree felony if an animal injures someone or a second-degree felony for a fatal attack.

 

Chief Brodnax said that since the council began discussing the change, the city has seen a decrease in calls about loose dogs.

 

The city responds to hundreds of stray-dog calls a month, said animal control officer Ronnie Little, who will help enforce the ordinance. Of the 350 calls in June, 77 strays were captured.

"I've seen us impound close to 100 or a little bit better sometimes," he said.

 

Rarely do those impounded animals end up with their rightful owners. So Mr. Little and his two other officers try to educate pet owners about the consequences of not taking responsibility for their animals. But he says the discussions are as effective as teaching an old dog a new trick.

 

"Even as we educate, and we talk, nobody takes it to heart," he said.

 

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