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Council approves ordinance clarifying "attacking animal" standard and owner liability
Summary
Tooele City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2025-02 to amend local code on aggressive animals to mirror state definitions and add owner liability and capture authority; Police Chief Adrian Day presented the changes.
Tooele City’s Police Chief Adrian Day presented proposed amendments to Tooele City Code Chapter 6-5B on Jan. 15 aimed at clarifying when an animal is considered "attacking" and at adding owner responsibility and capture authority. "A person may kill, capture, or injure an attacking animal," Day said while explaining the change that mirrors state law and expands the code’s language from an "apparent attitude of attack" to include chases, worries or threats.
Day told the council the changes respond to citizen complaints about loose dogs — particularly incidents involving huskies and coyotes — and noted the city handled a significant 2018 incident in which a loose husky killed nearly 30 animals in one night. He also described the city’s hearing-officer process for determining a dog disposition and said it provides a faster alternative to court petitions and long holding periods for animals.
Council members praised the additions as giving "more teeth" to enforcement and moving enforcement closer to the state standard. Councilman McCall moved adoption of Ordinance 2025-02 and Councilwoman Gochis seconded. The ordinance passed on a 5–0 roll-call vote with each council member voting "aye."
