By Michelle Bates
Dog biting is becoming an issue in Arcadia, and the legal process by which aggressive dogs are handled has come up for discussion.
District 5 Councilman Timothy Williams brought up the issue in September’s monthly meeting, asking Chief of Police Ciera Murphy what could be done. While he didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the dog biting, Williams said he was concerned about dogs at large biting people.
“We’ve been having a lot of dog biting and some constituents were asking about the process regarding dogs not on a leash,” Williams said. “If a dog bites an individual, what’s the process after they contact the police?”
Murphy explained that if they can identify the dog’s owner, then the owner is cited. If a dog owner is cited, it is a $100 fine, she said.
“If the dog needs to be tested for rabies, we make the necessary arrangements for that,” she said. “We advise the individual to go to their doctor to make sure there’s no rabies, and if it’s an aggressive enough dog, we’ll take it into custody.”
While there is no designated animal control officer, Mayor O’Landis Millican said Arcadia does have a place to house dogs in custody on Jonesboro Road.
“Once the pens fill up, then we take them to Homer and let the vet decide what to do with them,” he said. “We feed and house them, and once it fills up, we take them to Homer and let them take care of it. Sometimes, if it’s a stray dog, we give the person time to claim ownership.”
District 2 Councilwoman Melanie Monroe said she walks in the morning and being approached by an unleashed dog is one of her worst fears.
“There are a lot of stray dogs around my house, and I wake up in the morning, and I’ve had a dog laying on my front porch,” she said.
“The only time we get involved is when we’re called about an aggressive dog,” Murphy said. “I have the same issue. I come out of my house in the morning and there’s a pack of dogs. And most people won’t take ownership of the dog, because they know it comes along with a citation.”
She said this is an issue that she will be investigating closer as the department receives many calls about stray or aggressive dogs.