City adopts new dog ordinance

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Leavenworth Times - KS. - By Kristin Sullivan, Times Staff Writer

After years of debating the topic, the Leavenworth City Commission stiffened the regulations for aggressive dogs Tuesday at its regular meeting.

Maj. Pat Kitchens, deputy police chief, informed the commission that the new ordinance will allow animal control officers to take action against dogs deemed dangerous before they attack a human or another animal.

The city’s previous ordinance for vicious dogs only applied to instances in which a dog harmed a human or another animal.

The Leavenworth Police Department crafted the new ordinance in response to the commission’s directions to be more “proactive” toward dangerous dogs.

Leavenworth’s new ordinance is modeled after an ordinance in Lawrence, Kitchens reported.

The ordinance is designed to be tough on irresponsible owners, commissioners said at previous meetings. It is not breed-specific.

According to the new ordinance, “dangerous dogs” include dogs “with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, to cause injury or otherwise threaten the safety of human beings or domestic animals.” It also includes any dog “which in a vicious or threatening manner approaches any person in apparent attack upon the person.”

Exceptions in the ordinance include dogs that are acting aggressively in self-defense or defense of their owner or property.

Mayor Laura Janas Gasbarre applauded the ordinance, saying that it will empower letter carriers, meter readers and other residents to report dogs that are threatening.

Dogs that are reported as threatening may be subject to “temperament testing” by a person certified in the test, according to the new ordinance.

If found dangerous, strict registration and confinement will be required for the dog. Violations of the requirements may lead to mandatory euthanization.

The new ordinance also increases the penalties for owners of animals at large, particularly aggressive animals at large.



It also includes the possibility of mandatory jail time for repeat offenders of aggressive animals at large.

Commissioner Brian Grittmann said that a tougher ordinance will lead to the seizure of more dogs.

The Leavenworth Animal Control Shelter is already full, he said.



In order to accommodate more dogs at the shelter, animals from outside the city should be turned away or the shelter should be expanded.

He emphasized that the ordinance will be effective only so far as it is enforced.

“We need to have animal control 24 (hours a day), 7 (days a week),” Grittmann said.



The commission will meet in a study session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 at city hall.