DeSoto City Council to amend animal ordinance

by Daphne Brown of of DeSoto TODAY

The DeSoto City Council did not anticipate a large turnout at its July 17 regular meeting.

“We haven't heard any citizen response despite it being highly publicized,” Kathy Jones, DeSoto's community relations manager, said. “We haven't heard any kind of feedback.”

On the agenda for council approval were changes to the city's animal ordinance.

Jones said DeSoto, much like other suburban cities in the Metroplex, is experiencing a growing concern over dangerous or aggressive dogs in neighborhoods.

“In DeSoto, this is most often manifested by dogs running at large without proper identification,” Jones said.

Animal control and police officers have experienced difficulty restraining these animals, which prompted the city to hold a public meeting last winter to discuss the issue, Jones said.

“We're basically doing what came out of that public meeting, putting more responsibility on the dog owners,” she said.

More than 100 people expressed their opinions with the recurring theme being owner responsibility, she said.

City staff presented changes in the city's animal ordinance to the city council that intended to require citizens to take responsibility for their animals.

“The most controversial part will be the escalating costs for incidents of dogs running at large,” Jones said.

The first offense for a dog owner whose pet is found to be running without supervision was to be changed to include a $100 fine; second and third offenses are $200 and $300, respectively. Any subsequent offenses to lead to a fine of up to $2,000.

“That may cause a little bit of frustration, but the state has backed us up on this because they have tightened up their laws as well,” she said.

Specifically, the changes will:

• Amend the current animal ordinance to include a definition for “dangerous dog” which is defined by the Texas Health and Safety Code 822.041(2); or (2) as any dog that makes an unprovoked attack on a domestic animal or person causing serious bodily injury or death and occurring in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own or “running at large.” By including the definition of “dangerous dog” in the animal ordinance, we will require that any dog found to be “running at large” who seriously injures another person or domesticated animal will be immediately removed from the city.
• Impose fines for dogs found to be “running at large” as defined above. The first conviction will subject the dog's owner to a $100 fine, the second conviction will result in a $200 fine, there will be a $500 fine for the third conviction and all other subsequent convictions will be subject to up to a $2,000 fine.
• Require that any dog found by animal control to be “running at large” and impounded, will be implanted with a microchip, vaccinated and registered at the owner's expense before the dog is released to the owner. This will aid Animal Control officers in identifying the dog should it be found “running at large” again in the future.

“Over the last two decades, DeSoto's population has doubled,” Jones said. “With that huge increase in population, we have gone from a rural community to one that is much more urban.

“People are living much closer together and as a result, the actions of our pets can affect those around us,” Jones said.