News

Unleashed!

Katy Payne, e-Marketing Assistant, No Phone Number Available

Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 1 p.m.

Leashed or Unleashed, what's the big deal?

Dog leash laws apply to city and county park property and we have been hearing an increasing number of complaints about people not complying. City ordinance also requires pet owners to clean up any waste left by their dogs on public property, which has also been a problem.

Recent revisions to animal control ordinances have made the rules more consistent throughout the county as we moved to a regional animal control agency. Here are some points to keep in mind:

SCRAPS is now the agency responsible for enforcing all animal control ordinances in the city and county, including enforcement on park property.
Complaints that we have received consist of animals threatening people and other dogs, including chasing, barking and growling at others in an aggressive manner. There have also been dog fights involving people and animals that have started with dogs running loose.

Parks staff has been in conversations with Nicole Montano, operations manager for SCRAPS, about some of the issues in city parks. Parks and Recreation staff will be working from an educational effort to create a better awareness of animal control issues and rules.

“We would like to advise the public that SCRAPS will have a presence in the area parks this spring and summer,” Montano said. “Our primary goal is education. However, violations of the leash law do carry an $87 fine.”

SCRAPS recommends that dog owners utilize the two off-leash dog parks in our community: