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Owners of violent dogs in Provo may soon be required to take several precautions to protect others -- including muzzling the animals in public, providing photos of them for police files and carrying at least $100,000 in liability insurance in case of an attack.
The city's Municipal Council is looking at an ordinance that would create two new classifications for dogs -- "at-risk" and "dangerous" -- that would be applied based on their behavior toward humans and other animals. The ordinance is being pushed by Councilwoman Midge Johnson, who said a rash of incidents in the Provost neighborhood where she lives prompted a call for change. The purpose of the ordinance is not to change canine behavior as much as it is to change the habits of the people that own them, she said.
"The problem is more with owners than with dogs," she said. "People need to be responsible for their dogs. Period."
There were 54 cases last year involving animal bites, according to Provo Police Department records. So far, 2008 has been roughly on par, with 24 cases.
Johnson said one boy in her neighborhood was bitten in the face by a "pit bull-type dog." She originally looked into crafting some sort of breed-specific ban on statistically dangerous dogs, but later decided on a broader proposal.
"As I started thinking about that, I thought it would be folly for us to just look at one breed and act like they are the bad ones of the whole city," she said.
Instead, she modeled the ordinance on guidelines established by the National Animal Interest Alliance, a group that helps craft pet-friendly animal control ordinances.
"They kind of lambasted councils who went to a breed-specific ordinance as a knee-jerk reaction," she said.
A draft of the ordinance defines an at-risk dog as one that "menaces, chases, displays threatening or aggressive behavior, or otherwise threatens or endangers the safety of any person." Hurting another domesticated animal while the dog is running "at large" would also earn it the distinction.
If that happens, an owner would be required to keep the dog fenced up while at home. To go for a walk, it would need a leash no longer than 4 feet and would have to be supervised by a "legally responsible person." Additionally, new rules would require that the dog be implanted with a microchip, that Provo Police Department's Patrol Division keep photos of the dog on file, and that the owner carry liability insurance.
If a dog consistently exhibits at-risk behavior, it can be bumped up to dangerous status under the ordinance. Dogs that "severely injure" humans or ones with a history of illegal activity like dog fighting would also qualify.
If police determine a dog to be dangerous, they would open an investigation into the matter. Based on the results, authorities could either kill the animal or release it with all of the qualifications for at-risk dogs. Additionally, dangerous dogs would have to wear muzzles in public and be locked in a crate for transport in a vehicle.
But the council isn't saying old dogs can't learn new tricks; under either classification, a dog can be downgraded to a safer one after 18 months of good behavior and professional obedience training.
"We think repentance is always great for the owners and for the dogs," Johnson said.
The council will review the ordinance at its next work session July 8. It was on the discussion agenda at Tuesday's study meeting, but other council members said they needed more time to review it first.
• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or
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