Council urged to seek input on animal ordinance, leash laws

When Haley Rawlings talks about George, it’s easy to get a sense of his personality.

He’s playful, friendly, and somewhat nosey. He enjoys the chance to run in the desert or around his neighborhood. He loves exploring the Scotts Bottom area and Greenbelt He’s also a border collie training to become a therapy dog.

Rawlings spoke to the Green River City Council Tuesday evening to urge the governing body to seek input from more pet owners regarding a rewritten animal-at-large ordinance under consideration by the Council. The ordinance’s second reading was not on the Council’s agenda Tuesday.

Rawlings said George destresses when he has time away from his leash, which allows him to work on skills including call back and focus. Rawlings said an ordinance that would allow trained pets off leashes would be a way to help responsible pet owners seek trainings to help their pets learn how to be responsive while not leashed.

Wyatt Christensen, Rawlings’ husband, said he wants more information about off-leash areas under the proposed ordinance. The ordinance would allow the city administrator the ability to designate off-leash areas within Green River. He said one of the areas he heard would require leashes is the Greenbelt, which is a favorite place to take George. Rawlings said leashing George on walks along the Greenbelt would prevent him from exploring the river and enjoying the time as fully as he could.

“We feel like we would like some more information about where those off-leash areas would be,” he said.

Rawlings said she hopes the new ordinance will be informed by data and not complaints resulting from a few bad examples.

When the ordinance was presented earlier this month, Councilmembers Gary Killpack, George Jost and Ron Williams voiced opposition to the proposal. The proposed ordinance aims to help make the current law easier to understand by consolidating language and definitions found in two separate ordinances.

 

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