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http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/11727996p-12451473c.html
(photo in article): Jeff Jimenez waits as his dog, Duke, tries to retrieve a squirrel from its hole Tuesday at Woodward Park. Duke, a pit bull, gave up after a couple of minutes of intense effort.
Fresno unleashes dog-control effort Three-pronged safety idea more than a pet project. By Matt Leedy / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Wednesday, January 25, 2006, 5:43 AM)
The Fresno City Council wants to put some dog owners on a very short leash, especially those with dangerous or wandering canines.
The council unanimously directed the City Attorney's Office on Tuesday to prepare stricter laws meant to protect people from vicious dogs and reduce overpopulation.
Council Member Brian Calhoun won unanimous support for his effort to strengthen three areas of the city's dog ordinance: the regulation of dangerous dogs; policies to keep loose dogs off the streets; and spay and neuter regulations.
The council voted to have the City Attorney's Office return before March 1 with suggestions for an updated dog ordinance. Council members could then enact stricter laws.
Calhoun culled his proposed dog ordinance from a lengthy report from deputy city attorney John Fox, who gave council members many options. The council agreed with Calhoun's proposal to look closely at incorporating the following laws:
A dangerous-dog regulation that would allow the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to decide whether a dog is dangerous. If the dog is deemed dangerous, its owner would have to prove otherwise. A city hearing officer would make the final determination. The burden of proof now falls on the SPCA.
Owners of dangerous dogs would then face several requirements, including strict confinement of the animals, buying additional liability insurance for the dogs, spaying or neutering the dog, or having it euthanized.
This regulation also would make it a public nuisance to own a dangerous dog that wasn't properly secured. Owners could be cited or forced to pay abatement costs. The city could place liens against a dog owner's house if those fines aren't paid.
A dogs-at-large regulation that would allow the city to seize a dog found roaming more than three times in a year. The dog's owner could then be forced to spay or neuter the animal, remove it from the city or relinquish ownership.
A regulation that would require all dogs to be spayed or neutered unless they are either of show quality or a purebred dog that is bred responsibly.
This regulation also would increase the annual license fees for dogs that are not spayed or neutered. The current license fee is $4 for an altered dog and $10 for a dog that isn't spayed or neutered.
There would be restrictions on the number of times a dog could be bred, and the city would regulate the sale of dogs.
Several council members said they'd like to tweak some regulations.
Council Members Tom Boyajian and Larry Westerlund said the spay and neuter regulation might be too harsh. All dog owners should be allowed to breed their animals regardless of the dogs' bloodlines. Instead, they suggested an increased license fee for unaltered dogs.
Westerlund also suggested that authorities do more to find owners of unlicensed dogs. Norman Minson, executive director of the Central California SPCA, said only 6% to 7% of all dogs brought to the shelter are licensed.
Council Member Mike Dages asked that the ordinance include a clear definition of a dangerous dog and one that distinguishes between a dangerous dog and a dog that is protecting its owners or their property.
Council President Jerry Duncan wants cats included in the spay and neuter regulations.
The possibility of tougher dog laws prompted an often emotional two-hour discussion at City Hall that included dog attack victims, their families and others who asked council members to crack down on bad owners without punishing their pets.
Tyler Babcock's family made a tearful plea for tougher dog laws. Tyler was mauled to death last January by two of his neighbor's dogs. The 6-year-old was killed in Fresno County east of Clovis.
His family has successfully lobbied for new dog laws in Fresno County and the state.
New regulations are needed, said Tyler's mother, Chrystal Babcock, to protect children and pets. She urged people to report vicious dogs and exhorted the city to take them off its streets.
"My son loved the outdoors — riding his bike, digging for worms and playing with his cat," said Babcock, who lives in Fresno. "He was found stripped of his clothes in the cold, and badly torn up. … Please don't let what happened to him happen to anyone else."
Laura Vargas, 55, owns two pit bulls she adopted from the SPCA. Vargas said she walks them frequently and taught them to be kind to people. She asked the council to focus on penalizing bad owners and not their dogs.
"It's not so much the big dogs or the bad dogs that are the problem," she said. "It's the bad owners."
While the proposed laws were discussed late Tuesday afternoon, Karlyn Jimenez and her son were among the dog owners playing with their pets at Woodward Park.
Jimenez was watching her meek 3-year-old pit bull, Duke, as he bounded through the dog park.
Duke was the runt of his litter, Jimenez said, and his father was scarred from fights. Jimenez adopted Duke when he was a puppy and had him neutered when he was 5 months old. She also took him to obedience classes.
Duke is kind to people, she said, and is bullied by smaller dogs of all breeds in the dog park.
"It's how you take care of an animal that determines whether it is friendly or aggressive," Jimenez said, adding that she agrees with many of the proposed regulations.
"I think dog owners need to be responsible."
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