May 2007 Newsletter
What Pet Problems?
I’m going to go against my better judgment and try to be brave here as I take a chance at upsetting some people, because I have learned that you simply don’t want to mess with people and their pets.
As many of you know, animal control violations are a real issue that we deal with in town and people have such emotional responses to their animals that we have a real problem. It seems that you can arrest someone’s child for an offense and the otherwise rational parent will bail them out and maybe give you a crusty look. When you impound Spot or Fluffy and they come to get them, they’ll often make comments that question your moral’s… and your mother’s.
Probably the number one animal problem we are called to involves animals which are “Running at Large”. That’s a fancy way of saying that they’re loose and causing a problem. Most of the time there is no actual threat to anyone because they are vicious or mean and a little property damage, tipped over garbage cans or what I will delicately refer to as “Dog Piles” are the biggest threats. Sometimes however, there are vicious animals which are capable of causing serious injury to a child or even an adult which accidentally or on purpose are allowed to run loose.
Many times your furry friend, whom you would never see or believe to be a threat to anyone, is seen by someone else out there to be a fearsome beast. Someone very close to me is scared to death of big dogs. That’s because she carries the scars on her leg of a dog attack from childhood. She can never get that fear completely out of her mind.
But dogs aren’t the only problem, cats also cause problems as they tend to have loud midnight dating rituals, dig holes and mark territory in smelly ways. They also tend to manufacture their own brand of modeling clay that small children find and play with in the sand box.
Because of the vast number of animal problems we get involved in, 833 in the last year, animal issues are dealt with very seriously. No, we’re not going to send out dog sweeps and round up all of the Lassies out there, and we try to use discretion and have empathy as we encounter these issues. We do however have full time employees assigned to handle these incidents and if you receive a citation for your pet, or if Rover or Tinkerbell go to animal jail, be prepared to pay a hefty fine or “bail”.
I’ll run down a brief list of animal requirements that are covered in City Code:
All animals, including Dogs and Cats must be restrained or confined at all times.
There is a maximum allowed number of pets that is set at 2 Dogs or 2 Cats.
Premises where animals are kept must be kept clean and not pose a public hazard or create offensive conditions or smells.
Both Dogs and Cats over 6 months of age are required to be licensed.
Vicious animals are prohibited.
Dogs are prohibited from attacking or chasing any person, domestic animal or wildlife.
Both Dogs and Cats are required to be vaccinated for rabies.
Animal Control Officers are allowed to enter private property when in pursuit of a violating animal or to abate a public nuisance.
There are many more ordinances dealing with exotic or wild animals, noise ordinances (barking complaints rank #2 in number) and livestock. If one of these categories apply to you please contact the Police Department for clarification regarding your rights.
This time of year we normally receive a lot of animal complaints. Good weather prompts owners to let their pets run, biologically “love is in the air” for many animals and females in heat attract potential suitors from far and wide, in addition many baby farm animals such as calves, lambs and baby goats are born at this time and can become easy prey for marauding “pets”. I should note that our policy when dealing with animals attacking livestock is that if we can’t catch the suspect animals to stop them, we are backed by state law to destroy them to protect the livestock.
Please do your part to control your animals and to be a good neighbor. This issue is very polarized. It seems that people either love pets or have extremely negative feelings toward them. We may never bridge this gap, but we can all live together with our animal friends if we all think of others feelings.
Captain Cody Cullimore
Pleasant Grove/Lindon Police Department
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