Cynthia Long told the Mobile City Council on Jan. 13 that she brought a petition with more than 800 signatures asking the city to tighten animal-control practices after a severely malnourished dog was photographed in November and later removed from the property.

Long said the dog was ‘‘very skinny’’ with a heavy chain around its neck, and that animal-control personnel initially issued a warning and did not impound the animal; she described follow-up problems and asked the council to mandate stronger responses, create a database of animal abusers, and increase transparency in investigations.

An animal-control representative told the council the office received a call about the dog at about 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 and responded within 30 minutes, but the witness who photographed the dog had first observed it about two hours earlier and waited to report the case. By the time officers arrived the owner had removed the animal, the staff member said.

The animal-control staffer said that while the office ‘‘largely agrees’’ with many items in the petition, measures such as making first offenses felonies or creating a statewide registry would require state legislation and cannot be enacted solely by municipal ordinance. The speaker also cautioned that posting active investigations on social media can allow owners to remove animals and destroy evidence before officers can act.

Council members thanked Long and other petitioners, and agreed to place the issue on the agenda for the city's public-safety committee at the end of the month. Council members requested the draft ordinance rewrite be circulated before that meeting so members can come prepared to discuss specific language and options for pursuing state-level changes.

The staff member said the ordinance rewrite is nearly complete after recent review with the administration and expected to be on the public-safety meeting agenda in about two weeks. Council members emphasized the need to clarify which reforms the city can implement locally and which require state action.

Next steps: the public-safety committee will review the draft ordinance and the council said it would explore options to support state legislation if needed.