WARREN City council considers dog-control ordinance

The ordinance was tabled last month to remove a provision for registration fees.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Lee Anne Rimar hopes legislation being considered by city council this week helps curb the problem of animals running loose through neighborhoods.
Rimar, who works in a veterinary clinic and has three large dogs and several birds, used to cope with a neighbor's poodle that ran out of its yard and after her dogs as she walked them.
The ordinance on council's Wednesday evening agenda targets people with vicious dogs, those that bark, howl or yelp incessantly and people who harbor a large number of the pets.
The legislation was tabled last month to remove a section pertaining to registration fees.
Alford Novak, D-2nd, one of the legislation's sponsors, said that section was removed after Trumbull County commissioners raised dog license fees.
What ordinance would require
The ordinance would require people to keep dogs on leashes in public places, prohibit dogs and cats from running at large and require dogs living outside to be housed in pens with sides and a top.
"From what I've seen and from complaints I've received, a lot of people don't control their dogs or don't keep them safely secured," Novak said.
Rimar said the situation with her neighbor's dog has improved since the city enabled its dog warden to issue citations to dog owners based on citizen complaints, rather than having to witness an offense himself.
"Since that time, I haven't seen the dog running loose," she said.
She worries, though, about people labeling a dog "vicious," based on its breed.
"I work at a vet clinic and some of these rottweillers and pit bulls that come in are the sweetest dogs," Rimar said.
It's the way the animal is raised, trained and treated that make it vicious, she said.
"I want to see laws that punish people, not the dogs," Rimar said.
The proposed ordinance also would require owners of vicious dogs to keep the dogs confined either indoors or in a locked pen or a run area.
It defines vicious dogs as those that have killed or injured a person or another dog without provocation or a dog trained for dog fighting.
Vicious dogs
People who own vicious dogs would be required under the ordinance to maintain liability insurance of at least $100,000.
Novak said the previous legislation required a lower insurance amount.
The legislation also would regulate barking or yelping dogs. It prohibits barking, howling or yelping that is "unreasonably loud and disturbing noises of such a character, intensity and duration as to disturb the peace, quiet and good order of the city."
Barking, howling or yelping for longer than five minutes between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. or for longer than 10 minutes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. is considered disturbing under the proposed legislation.
Robert Holmes III, D-4th, said he knows of one longtime resident who moved out of the city because a neighbor's dog barked continually and the man couldn't get relief from the city.
"This will help if they enforce it," Holmes said.
It also establishes regulations for owners of several dogs.
"A lot of people also have been calling about people having just a phenomenal amount of dogs," Holmes said.
The proposed legislation requires people who keep or shelter more than four dogs at the same time to file an application for registration as a dog harborage with the city health department. There's also a $15 registration fee.
Although laws regulating dog ownership have been on the books, Novak believes the new legislation carries more of a bite.
"I hope we get to a point where if there's a recurring problem with dogs barking or running loose at a residence, we'll be able to address it," he said.
Novak also expects dogs to be one of the issues addressed by the Safe Streets Now committee being formed to address quality of life issues in the city.
dick@vindy.com