Monitor Editor
GREEN COVE SPRINGS— Clay County commissioners considered updates to the county’s dangerous dog ordinance during a Jan. 25 workshop.
Assistant County Manager Troy Nagle told commissioners that the handling of dangerous dogs is governed by state statute. He added that although commissioners cannot alter state law, they can require that owners of dangerous dogs within the county to adhere to more stringent requirements. Those additional requirements could include requiring owners to purchase $100,000 in liability insurance, requiring owners to send their dogs to obedience schools and requiring dangerous dogs to be muzzled when leaving their owners’ property.
Ernest Sagan, field operations coordinator for the county’s animal services department said the liability insurance requirement is a long-standing ordinance in neighboring St. Johns County.
Nagle also said the county could build on the state’s definition of a dangerous dog, creating a new category of aggressive dog, and going beyond state law in the restrictions that apply to dangerous dogs.
The state defines a dangerous dog as one who has attacked a person once, or another animal twice. Some county residents have said if a dog attacks another animal just once, the owner of the attacking dog should face consequences.
Commissioner Wayne Bolla said he didn’t like the terms dangerous or aggressive dogs, singling out K-9s for unlawful behavior.
“Can we just say ‘animal’ instead of ‘dog’?” he asked the administrator.
Nagle told Bolla that state law specifically identifies dogs in the statute. He added that the Clay County Animal Services Department only handles complaints and issues with dogs, cats and ferrets. Any other animal complaint is handled by Florida Fish and Wildlife or by private trappers.
He said that in the past, the county has referred complaints about wolves, alligators, pigs, racoons and opossums to either the state agency or to private trappers.
Nagle also proposed changes to the ordinance that would allow animal control officers to issue citations to ordinance violators. He said that now, the only way the county collects money from pet owners is requiring payments before owners can reclaim their pets back from the county’s shelter.
“This will allow a better enforcement option than what we currently have, which is little enforcement, unless we have possession of the animal,” Nagle told commissioners.
During the workshop, commissioners also discussed regulating hobby dog breeders and pet stores, issuing animal control citations and implementing a trap, neuter and release policy for community cats.
