The Lubbock City Council has approved two amendments to the city’s ordinances concerning animal ownership and increasing dangerous dog insurance requirements.
On Dec. 2, the council gave its final nod of approval to the amendments that were initially approved at its Nov. 11 meeting, marking a turning point in the city’s long discussion on how to address its dangerous dogs issues.
“There’s a lot of preventative steps that any owner of a dog — dangerous dog — has to take that seem to be pretty heavy, and I think reasonable, to make sure that we keep our citizens protected and safe from a dangerous dog,” Mayor Mark McBrayer said.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what changes were made to Chapter 4 of the city ordinances.
Clarification on what a dangerous dog is vs. a dangerous animal
The ordinance creates a clear distinction between the definitions and criteria for a dangerous animal and a dangerous dog.
According to the ordinance, a dangerous dog is defined as one of the following:
The ordinance would also clearly define a “secure enclosure” and would also increase the annual dangerous dog permit fee to $200.
The ordinance also stipulates that hearings would no longer be required to determine a dog is dangerous, and owners would have 30 days to get into compliance — instead of the current 15 days.
Owners can still appeal the declaration in Municipal Court within 15 days of notice. However, if a dog is declared dangerous, the owner may euthanize it, remove it from city limits, or follow the city’s required procedures including: registering and sterilizing the animal and obtaining liability insurance.
Lubbock increases liability insurance for dangerous dogs to $1 million
When it comes to that increase in liability, owners must obtain $1 million liability insurance for dangerous dogs.
“We got with the policy writers that risk management uses – they were able to find the industry for this typically (offers) insurance policies for a million dollars of liability insurance for a dangerous dog ranging from $1,500 to $3,500 per year,” Taylor Ruggles said.
Ruggles, assistant director of operations at Lubbock Animal Services, said those prices may depend on the severity of the bite or the attack and the breed of animal, among other factors.
Councilman Tim Collins asked if the city would provide citizens with a list of liability insurance providers. Ruggles said no, they couldn’t, to avoid looking like an endorsement.
But council members requested that Lubbock Animal Services provide more public education regarding dangerous dogs.
Changes to Lubbock’s multi-pet permit
The council also passed another ordinance that removes inspection requirements for a multi-pet permit and waives fees for impounded animals if the owner agrees to spay or neuter it within 30 days.
This is a deviation from the originally proposed amendment that would require an annual permit requirement for breeding cats and dogs, but that element was removed by the city council.
Mateo Rosiles is a reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and USA TODAY Network in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him: mrosiles@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock City Council gives final nod to revised dangerous dog ordinance
Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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