Kilgore, TX: City officer says dangerous dog laws are sufficient (not BSL)

http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2009/0718/news/007.html

City takes bite out of dangerous dogs

Judge can impose several penalties, including expensive liability insurance

By BRENDA BROWN knhedit@kilgorenewsherald.com
July 18, 2009
Kilgore News Herald

The city is doing everything it can legally do regarding dangerous dogs, according to the official in charge of investigating animal bites.

B.J. Owen, director of Special Services, said the city’s first priority is to protect the public, but it is limited under state law on what can be done in certain circumstances.

Joe T. Parker, mayor, said the council asked for a report about dangerous dogs due to the death of Justin Clinton in Leverett’s Chapel. The 10-year-old was mauled by a neighbor’s two pit bulls last month and his family and others have called for stricter leash laws in Rusk County, as well as outright bans of pit bulls, which is not allowed under present state laws.

The city’s dangerous dog ordinance has been in place for six to eight years, Owen told the council, and “we believe we’re doing all the law will allow regarding dangerous dogs because we can’t be breed specific or even size specific.”

While noting “dogs will be dogs,” Owen said all reported animal bites are investigated.

If someone is bitten, the first thing investigators determine is whether the bite was provoked or unprovoked, and also where the bite occurred.

“Inside a dog’s enclosure, he has free reign. Attacks or threats to attack outside the dog’s primary enclosure is another matter,” Owen explained.

“There are times when a dog is just flat mean, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dangerous dog,” Owen said.

Kilgore’s animal ordinance is more detailed that the state statute that covers dangerous dogs.

Owen said city animal control officers have a checklist to determine whether a dog is dangerous. If they determine it is, they will prepare a case and present the findings to the municipal judge, who can impose several penalties.

The judge can require the dog owner to:

— Spay and neuter the animal, which Owen said often changes a dog’s overall temperament.

— Require the dog to wear an orange tag at all times.

— Keep the dog leashed and muzzled outside of its enclosure.

— Require an enclosure that is also enclosed from above.

— Post “dangerous dog” signs on the owner’s property.

— Require the owner to purchase $100,000 liability insurance, which is the state maximum. Owen said the policy must be specific to dog bites and not just a homeowner’s liability policy for that amount.

“We’ve found it’s hard for people to get the $100,000 liability insurance policy if the insurance company knows the dog was declared dangerous by a judge,” Owen said.

He said the owners sometimes choose to give up their dogs because of the city’s rules, while others have taken their dogs to obedience classes.

“The city has investigated four dangerous dog complaints, but I have personally talked to over a dozen people who had dangerous dogs — before anything happened — and they chose to get rid of the dogs after they found out the restrictions that the city can impose,” Owen said.