Aggressive animal complaints and ‘COVID dogs’ may change city code

Newton may be revisiting its ordinances regarding loose and vicious dogs, which is largely in response to citizen complaints and national trends.

Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess told city council during a Feb. 6 presentation that a number of “COVID dogs” purchased during the pandemic were not socialized. When restrictions and quarantines were lifted, problems started to occur. Dogs were running loose or abandoned and have had behavioral issues.

In August 2022, Newton residents Max Tipton and Donna Stumme urged city council to revisit its dogs ordinance; the former’s 78-year-old wife, Kathy Tipton, even suffered a dog bite outside her home. Stumme shared stories of aggressive dogs and suggested the ordinance does not support victims of bite incidents.

Apart from the language cleanups, city staff proposed dogs that are tethered to a property do not have access to sidewalks. Some of the bite incidents in Newton over the past two years involved a dog tied up in the front yard but had access to the sidewalk. Tethering would also be prohibited from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Probably the most impactful change is the new tier in dog classifications in the code. Currently, there are only two: “vicious” and “problematic.” The third, new tier would be “dangerous” dogs. The city would also like to define different levels of injury: minor, serious, disabling and fatal.

Dogs classified as problematic would not be allowed in city parks or dog parks, nor would they be allowed to be kept on retractable leashes.

The dangerous dogs description is essentially taking the place of the vicious dogs designation in the code. A dangerous dog would not be allowed to reside in Newton if it is coming from another jurisdiction.

In order to get a designation overturned by the animal review committee, the owner and the dog would have to attend certified dog training instruction.

Vicious dogs are defined as dogs that have caused a death or disabling injury to a person, such as a loss of a limb, severe disfiguration of the face or loss of function of body part or organ. The consequence for that type of injury is euthanasia. An appeal rights process would be put in place.

DATA ON DOG BITES, DOGS AT-LARGE

Over the past two years the city has had 283 dogs at-large; in 2021 there were 135 and in 2022 there were 148. Two years prior, the Jasper County Animal Rescue League dissolved and required the city and county to take up animal control duties. Burdess said JCARL averaged 120 dogs at-large per year.

“So we’re a little bit above what the expectation was at that time,” Burdess said.

About 85 percent of the dogs are reclaimed by their owners. The ones that are not reclaimed are transported to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.

There were 30 dog bite incidents in Newton this past year. Burdess said a vast majority of the bite incidents are in the home and are committed by a family dog to a family member. Oftentimes the bites happen when children are playing with the dog or the dog gets food aggressive or the dog is mistreated.

“We had an incident where (a resident) fell down the stairs and on top of the sleeping dog, so the dog was scared and reacted and had a bite,” Burdess said.

There are roughly 10 incidents a year in Newton where a dog bite is out in public.

BACKGROUND ON ANIMAL ORDINANCE

The city’s current ordinance was drafted in 2011 based on a tragic dog incident a year prior. Burdess said an animal review committee was formed to establish best practices for vicious dogs and dog bites. The committee worked for several months before coming up with the current draft, which was amended in 2012.

Standards of care were added to the ordinance, such as requiring owners by code to provide dogs with food, water and shelter.

However, the ordinance has not been updated for the past 11 years.

The previous animal review committee looked at current case law and other city ordinances to establish its own code. Burdess said the committee also looked at research regarding current animal behavior.

Burdess will provide the full language of the new ordinance at a future meeting.