The Washington City Council approved the second reading of their amended animal protection and control ordinance during their recent meeting.

Washington Police Chief Jim Lester says that the amended language provides more discretion and flexibility for the police department to handle vicious dogs and other issues, and he says he corresponded with local veterinarian Dr. Wendy Miller after the first reading was approved in February, “We’ve made some adjustments based on some conversations had during the council meeting as well as some feedback from Dr. Miller at Town and Country Vet. We reached out to her, she helps us a lot with animal control issues and so I’d reached out to her and got some of her suggestions and comments. And we appreciate that and utilizing some of that information as well as ordinances from other communities.”

Lester says this is an effort to make the best ordinance that keeps residents safe while also taking into account the freedoms of pet owners. The amended ordinance now includes a more specific definition of a vicious animal, two more options for the police chief to address vicious animals, and greater definition of animal neglect or cruelty as well as appropriate tethering, which was removed before the council requested to add it back. The ordinance now awaits a third reading before being adopted. You can read the ordinance in the March 16th council packet.