Moses Lake discusses dog ordinance

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake City Council discussed the dangerous-dog ordinance as it pertains to pit bulls and public safety Tuesday night.

A decision was not made.

The meeting was a study session and the council did not listen to public testimony regarding the issue. Instead people who attended were given sheets of paper to write comments for the council to read later.

Council discussed suggestions made by a citizen's committee and ordinances adopted by other cities concerning dangerous dogs and pit bulls.

Councilmember Richard Pearce shared suggestions made by the committee.

He said the committee thought banning a specific breed, such as pit bulls, would be difficult to enforce and be ineffective.

They suggested requiring pet owners to keep a file containing information about medical, training and any police issues related to the animal. They also suggested increasing the licensing fee for an unaltered dog to $150 to encourage pet owners to spay or neuter their dog in an effort to calm its demeanor, he said.

Pearce suggested changing the potentially dangerous dog ordinance to include pit bull breeds.

Councilmember Bill Ecret said all dogs, regardless of breed, should have a microchip installed and animals should be altered unless the dog owner is a licensed dog breeder. He asked about penalties and insurance requirements for potentially dangerous dogs and dogs designated as dangerous.

Pearce said it's almost impossible to obtain insurance for a potentially dangerous dog and penalty fees are already addressed in the current city code.

Mayor Ron Covey said he favors adopting a breed-specific ordinance. He said pit bulls are bred to be aggressive and attack just as a Labrador retriever is bred to retrieve.

He referred to recent incidents involving pit bulls.

In the past week, two incidents happened in Spokane County where pit bulls attacked and caused serious injuries to a child and a baby.

Recently a pit bull entered a home in Moses Lake and drug a small dog out of its home, Chief Dean Mitchell said. The pit bull brought the small dog to its home and killed it.

The dog was not licensed and the dog owner surrendered the pit bull to Grant County Animal Outreach. The pit bull owner was someone who attended a past council meeting where banning the breed was discussed but several pit bull owners protested the discussion.

Councilmember James Liebrecht said the best action is to place full responsibility for the animal with the dog owner. He said increasing license fees may not be effective because pet owners who would pay the fee are most likely responsible for their animal already. Liebrecht said an irresponsible pet owner may disregard the fee requirement. He said penalties should be more severe for dog owners who fail to abide city ordinances.

Covey said he spoke with a local pit bull trainer. The trainer told Covey pit bulls can be trained to follow commands from their owner, but not anyone else and can attack for unknown reasons.

"We were asked not to ban the pit bulls," he said. "I think we have to be breed-specific. They are not bred to be friendly."

Covey suggested adding pit bull breeds to the definition of the potentially dangerous dog ordinance so the dog is not banned but more restrictions are placed on the animals.

Councilmember Dick Deane asked how irresponsible dog owners can be held accountable.

Covey said it can be done through more restrictions and fines.

Liebrecht suggested requiring a $25,000 bond to have the animal.

Pearce said he was concerned because requiring the bond or expensive insurance can force people to be criminals if they can't afford it.

Covey said people would not be forced to be criminals because they have a choice. They can relocate out of the city or relocate the dog out of the city.

Councilmember Brent Reese said he does not favor breed-specific legislation. He said any dog can be potentially dangerous and not all pit bulls are aggressive.

The council did not indicate when they would discuss the issue again.