Park Ridge dogs caught behaving badly are now identified in a new list on the city’s website.
The Park Ridge Police Department posted this year, for the first time, a list of dogs declared dangerous and at risk by the city’s Animal Commission.
Included in the list, which can be found on the department’s website, is the name and breed of each dog, its weight and color, and the block in which the dog lives.
Dog owners are not identified in the listing, which currently designates four dogs as having received a dangerous classification from the three-member Animal Commission. The breeds covered by the list range from pit bull and Rottweiler to boxer, German shepherd and a terrier-Shih Tzu mix.
Posting the block numbers and identities of the dogs online will make residents aware that a dangerous or at-risk dog is in their neighborhood and “adds an extra layer” in how the department deals with problem animals, said Park Ridge police Chief Frank Kaminski, who brought the plan to the Animal Commission in November.
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“It’s part of letting people know what’s going on in the community,” he said.
Animal Commission member Bill Urquhart said he supports the online identification.
“If people see the dog running free, they can call police because they will know the dog is dangerous or at risk,” Urquhart said.
He said the listing may also be a deterrent to dog owners acting irresponsibly.
“Maybe they would think twice about letting their dog run free,” Urquhart said.
When police are called because of a dog’s behavior — for example, because the dog has bitten someone or it has acted aggressively — a determination is made as to whether to send the matter to the Animal Commission, Kaminski said.
“We try to err on the side of sending it to the commission rather than not,” he said.
Cases that have been heard by the commission have involved dogs that have attacked other dogs and people.
With the owner of the dog invited to participate, the three-member commission hears the case, reviews the police report and is instructed to determine whether the circumstances demand the animal be declared dangerous or at risk based on definitions in the city’s municipal code. Meeting minutes show that the commission does not always grant a designation.
The municipal code defines a dangerous dog, in part, as an animal that has perpetrated an unprovoked attack on a person or another animal, resulting in injuries, or which is found by the Animal Commission to exhibit such traits. One of the dogs on the Police Department’s list was declared dangerous by the commission after the dog bit someone for a second time within a year while classified as at-risk, minutes from Animal Commission meetings indicate.
Owners of dogs declared dangerous are required to keep the animal secured inside a building or other type of enclosure, and muzzle the dog when it is out on a leash, according to the code. The dogs must be spayed or neutered, receive obedience training and have a microchip implanted, with the number provided to the city, the code says.
Dangerous dogs may not live within 500 feet of a school, public park or playground, unless they already lived there prior to 2010, when the Animal Commission was created.
Additional details on the city’s regulation of animals can be found here.
A dog can be declared at risk if it bites, but does not break the skin of a person or animal, while unprovoked, the code states.
After two years, the owner of an at-risk dog can request that the designation be removed if requirements are met, said Doug Hayse, community service coordinator with the Police Department.
“(Owners) have to show that the dog has been microchipped, is current with rabies shots and has a certificate of completing training,” Hayse said. “In addition to that, they can’t have any other incidents with the dog throughout that two-year period.”
Lisa Calarco’s Rottweiler, named Rambo, was designated at-risk in 2011 after biting a woman during a walk. Since then, she said, her dog has met all the city’s requirements to be taken off the list, and she is asking for Rambo’s name to be removed.
She said she has “mixed feelings” about at-risk and dangerous dogs being identified online.
“I don’t know if it’s going to help or hinder,” Calarco said. “But I’m not against it by any means.”
Regarding her situation, Calarco said Rambo, who was on a leash, reacted after being touched by a stranger.
“You never just go up to someone’s dog and pet it. You’re always supposed to ask,” Calarco said. “For an adult, I thought she would have known that.”
The cost of an annual license for a dangerous or at-risk dog is higher than for other pets, according to the city’s municipal code.
Owners of a dangerous dog must pay an annual license fee of $100 to the city, while owners of at-risk dogs must pay $25, according to the municipal code. The regular pet license fee is $10 per animal.
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