County adopts new dog ordinance

by Michael Howell

Ravalli County Commissioners adopted a new dog control ordinance on Thursday, November 7. The new Ordinance No. 46, titled “Vicious Dog, Dog-At-Large, Dog Bite & Rabies Control,” replaces the existing ordinance No. 37 titled “Dog Protection and Control” that was adopted in April, 2013. The new ordinance will take effect 30 days following the adoption of the ordinance, that is December 7, 2024.

The new ordinance states that a person commits a violation of this ordinance if the person is an owner or temporary owner of a dog, and allows the dog to bite another person or animal. The owner or temporary owner is not in violation of this section if the dog has been provoked by the person or animal who was bit. The owner or temporary owner of a dog is not in violation of this section if the person or animal bit is trespassing within the property of the owner or temporary owner, and the dog is within the property of the owner or temporary owner at the time of the bite.

It also states that a law enforcement officer investigating a reported dog bite shall also determine if a dog is a “vicious dog,” which is defined as “a dog which bites or attempts to bite any person without provocation, or which harasses, chases, bites, or attempts to bite any other person’s animal.” However, it goes on to state, “The owner or temporary owner is not in violation of this section if the dog has been provoked by the person or animal who was bit. The owner or temporary owner of a dog is not in violation of this section if the person or animal bit is trespassing within the property of the owner or temporary owner, and the dog is within the property of the owner or temporary owner at the time of the bite.”

The ordinance requires the confinement of a vicious dog to the property of the owner by fencing, kenneling and the placement of warning signs, but also allows the dog to be taken off the property if it “is securely muzzled and adequately restrained on a leash or harness.”

If the owner or temporary owner is not present at the incident where a dog is determined to be vicious, the dog may be temporarily seized and remanded to an animal shelter at the owner or temporary owner’s expense. The Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office shall be initially responsible for the cost of care while the dog is housed at the animal shelter. The owner or temporary owner of the dog may redeem the dog only after paying to the animal shelter and/or the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office any cost of care incurred by the animal shelter and/or Sheriff’s Office.

One amendment made to the ordinance between the first and second readings was in the penalties involved. The maximum fine for a third time violation of the ordinance was reduced from $1000 to $500 to conform with state law.

The final approved penalties for violating the ordinance are a fine in the amount of not less than $50 or more than $500 for the first violation, and a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500, or imprisonment in the Ravalli County Detention Center for a term of not more than six (6) months, or both, for the second violation. A person convicted of a third or

subsequent violation shall be fined an amount of not less than $500, and be imprisoned in the Ravalli County Detention Center for a term of not more than six (6) months.

A dog may simply be determined to be a dog-at-large and the owner may be fined an amount not to exceed $100. “At-large” means any dog located outside the boundary of the premises of its owner or temporary owner, and not under the immediate control of the owner or temporary owner by leash, tether, lead, harness, or other physical control device or voice restraint, or signal control of a person capable of controlling, subduing, or restraining the dog, or by complete confinement within or upon a vehicle with permission of the owner of the vehicle.

Some concern was expressed in discussions about allowing voice or signal control of dogs in public. Commissioner Jeff Burrows said it made sense to leave the ordinance unchanged in this regard.

“If a dog is out there running around harassing people, I think the officer should have that discretion,” said Burrows. “If it’s a friendly dog just running around and takes a kid’s lunch, I hope that they would use their discretion in that situation and tell someone, you know you’ve got to keep your dog on a leash. I think we would be looking at bigger problems if we actually made a leash law, because what are you going to do if someone says there’s a puppy walking down the street and you are in violation of an ordinance because it’s not on a leash? I think that’s too far from what our intent in this ordinance was.”

The ordinance requires any person with knowledge that an animal has bitten a human to promptly make a report of the bite to the animal control officer or public health department. It also requires all dogs to be vaccinated for rabies. Without evidence of vaccination the dog may be quarantined. The court, after hearing, may order the euthanasia of any dog, cat or ferret if the court finds that the animal is a risk to the community.