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Council seeks clearer vicious-animal code and plans optional one-time animal tag service
Summary
After recent biting incidents staff proposed clarifying the code to distinguish "potentially vicious" from "vicious" animals and to set process timelines; council also asked staff to study an optional one-time animal tag/license (suggested $10) to help reunite lost pets and record vaccinations.
Councilors reviewed recent incidents involving dog bites and discussed where the municipal code defines a "vicious" animal. The police presenter explained that current code treats a bite or an attack as qualifying events and suggested adding more explicit timelines and a separate "potentially vicious" category to govern notice, hearings and remediation steps. "A bite or it can attack just a a certain attack," the presenter said while summarizing the code's criteria for a vicious designation.
Members also debated whether the city should reintroduce an optional animal-licensing service to help track animals and vaccination status. Staff noted prior staffing limits and privacy issues with veterinary records but proposed a low-cost, one-time tag (a $10 example was discussed) to serve as a unique identifier that could speed reunification and provide owners the option of maintaining an on-file record. The council asked staff to draft clarifying ordinance language and a proposal for an optional licensing/tagging program and to return with cost estimates and implementation steps.
