Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007
Salem plans to take its time on city's dog bite ordinance
Dogs not spayed or neutered tend to bite more often.
SALEM — Councilman Clyde Brown said everyone can have their say about dogs.
Brown, chairman of city council's rules and ordinances committee, is trying to see how to better control dogs.
Brown has scheduled another committee meeting for 6 p.m. Tuesday. He said a meeting Tuesday brought out about 10 people, as many as he has seen at a committee meeting.
He expects it will take several committee meetings to decide what to do.
The city has had about seven dog bite complaints this year, according to Police Chief Robert Floor. That's up from one or two such cases a year. None of the bite complaints have caused serious injuries, according to the chief.
The city's ordinance requires that dogs either be in cages or on a leash. But the ordinance also says dogs may also be, "under control of some person."
Some people have complained about owners allowing their dogs to run free in city parks.
The Columbiana County Humane Society wants to get involved to help with new ordinances.
Some things they know
The society noted a Web site, www.dogbitelaw.com, says that one study found that male dogs accounted for 70 percent to 87 percent of attacks, and 60 percent of those were males that had not been neutered.
Floor agreed that dogs not spayed or neutered tend to bite more.
Floor said the city's records didn't record the sex of the dogs in the local attacks or whether the animals had been spayed or neutered.
Floor said he believes the city ordinance needs to be clarified without conflicting with state law. Brown, too, wants to see the ordinance clarified.
Under the city ordinance, an owner whose dog bites a person could be charged with a minor misdemeanor punishable by up to a $100 fine. A second offense could bring a $250 fine.
A dog that kills or seriously injures a person could bring the owner a first-degree misdemeanor with a $1,000 fine and a six-month jail term. The animal could also be destroyed.
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