Agenda - 12-10-2013 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 1 In the new ordinance, my dog would be off the hook for biting a trespasser if my property 2 had placards "noting the presence of such animal." What does this mean? What should 3 the sign say? And in regards to placards, I'd like to say two things: 1. Do we really want to 4 clutter the countryside with the thousands of signs necessary to protect dog owners from 5 having their dog called vicious. And, 2, any competent lawyer will tell you that by posting a 6 "beware of dog" sign, you are admitting that you regard your dog as dangerous and 7 opening yourself up to legal liability. 8 9 1 could say a lot more with extra time but I want to close with an amazing example of why 10 the draft ordinance needs more work. Take at look at the definition section on pages 69 and 11 70. Imagine you are bitten by a dog. Would you rather have an "injury" or a "severe injury?" 12 In the definition section a severe iniury entails broken bones and lacerations. But an iniury 13 requires "immediate medical attention to prevent death." 14 15 OTHER POINTS I'D LIKE TO MAKE 16 1. Why does Animal Control want to retain both categories, "vicious animal" and 17 "dangerous dog??" The County's designation "vicious animal" is only slightly different from 18 the State's designation of "dangerous dog. The double designation leads to cases such as 1 19 cited at the June BOCC meeting where a single event led to an animal's being called both 20 "vicious" and "dangerous." This caused the dog's owner a lot of unnecessary grief and 21 caused Animal Control to have to spend a whole lot of additional time on the case. 22 23 2. The proposed ordinance is filled with dozens of instances where the public is at the 24 mercy of the judgment or discretion of an Animal Control officer or of the Animal Services 25 Director. In my own case from last winter, my wife and I fell victim to this discretion issue 26 when we opted to keep our dog at home for the required 10-day quarantine after she bit a 27 trespasser. I had no argument with the quarantine. But I did have to leave the county for a 28 short trip and asked if Animal Control could keep the dog overnight and then return her to 29 my custody.They said yes but when I went to pick her up, they said no. After a heated 30 discussion,they said yes again.Then they said no once more and finally after a face-to-face 31 meeting said yes again.Five changes of mind is four too many. Certainly there must be 32 some provision for experts to exercise professional judgment. But it would help the 33 ordinance if some of these discretionary points were fleshed out so as to let the public know 34 what to expect. 35 36 3. The designation of a dog as"vicious" is really serious. In essence it terminates any 37 freedom the dog previously enjoyed. He must be kept inside the owner's house. When 38 kept outside, it must be in a specially constructed pen built to Animal Control's 39 specifications and inspected annually for which the owner must pay an inspection fee. 40 When off the owner's property, the dog has to be on leash and wear a muzzle. When 41 outside on its owner's property, it must be on a leash. It is crucial that the owner be 42 provided an opportunity to appeal the designation to a quasi-judicial body that is 43 independent of Animal Control. The current Advisory Board certainly has the expertise 44 to serve as an appeal board but it is so intimately concerned with the inner workings 45 of Animal Control and its Director (and other personnel) that it simply cannot qualify 46 as an independent judicial body. 47 END. 48 49 Bonnie Hauser said it is hard to have an ordinance that satisfies both rural and urban 50 areas. She said direction is needed to get this on sound footing. She said this is not the time