Who let the dogs out?

Leaders in Fontanelle and Greenfield have been asking the question these days of just who let the dogs out.

It’s typical for this time of year that as the weather gets nicer, stray animals will begin to roam around small communities, said Fontanelle Police Chief Matt Heinz.

Even well-intentioned citizens will have non-dangerous pets get loose from time to time.

Both Greenfield and Fontanelle city councils have discussed the matter at recent meetings because each community has experienced situations recently with dogs some may consider vicious.

A recent situation in Fontanelle happened with a dog and a child at an in-home daycare. Community members have been polite and respectful in working together to find a solution, however the problem hadn’t been resolved as of the March 14 city council meeting.

A question came up there of whether the animal committee — which is made up of council members Tyson Sickles and Dixie Dukes with community members Dianna Goetz and Carole Brown — or law enforcement should be the ones handling these complaints. On many occasions, law enforcement, such as Police Chief Matt Heinz, are involved at some point or another.

Animal committee members cited struggles of communication and staying on the same page as reasons for bringing the matter up. They want a consistent process for handling situations going forward.

Some committee members said they weren’t notified of the most recent animal complaint.

Council members said that if more teeth aren’t given to situations like these, citizens will begin thinking these complaints will be swept under the rug.

City ordinances state that anyone keeping a pit bull or vicious dog outside its kennel or pen must have it secured on a leash, controlled by a person, that is no greater than four feet long and not connected to inantimate objects like trees, posts, buildings, etc.

In addition, pit bulls and vicious dogs kept on a leash must be muzzled by a muzzling device that prevents them from biting people or other animals. Vicious dogs aren’t to be kept indoors in a way that they could escape to the outside.

The complete section of the ordinances (Chapter 55) relating to pit bulls and vicious dogs may be found on the City of Fontanelle’s website, www.fontanelleia.org.

Anyone violating these ordinances in Fontanelle could receive a $65 minimum fine on the first offense, a $75 fine on the second offense, and on third and subsequent offenses, a minimum fine of $100 will be imposed and the animal could be removed from city limits permanently.

In his police report March 14, Heinz said that much of what he has dealt with lately is animal complaints.

“I’ve been handling what I can,” Heinz said. “Tis the season. I think cats, dogs, everybody has spring fever with the warmer weather. It’s gonna be the nature of the beat for awhile until we get into a routine. That’s been about everything — handling the calls that come in and letting the animal control committee know that this is what I’ve done, figuring out what the right course of action is.”

Greenfield’s corresponding ordinance reads the exact same way as Fontanelle’s, though consequences in Greenfield are that the dog “shall be subject to immediate seizure and impoundment.”

Greenfield Mayor Jimmie Schultz said there is a situation in town that has been “ongoing.”

“We’re trying to handle that,” he said. “It does not happen a lot, but it happened about a month ago. We just need to take care of stuff and make sure [things get resolved]. A bad dog is a bad dog. There’s just no sugar coating it.”