OGDEN -- City animal-control officers are stepping up foot patrols along East Bench walking trails because of an increasing number of complaints about dogs running at large.
The random patrols have resulted in about 30 citations being issued in the last two months to dog owners for violation of the city's leash law, Bob Geier, Ogden's animal services manager, said Wednesday.
The citations are a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
Walkways being targeted for increased enforcement include the Bonneville Shoreline, Birdsong, Mount Ogden, Beus, Taylor Canyon and Strongs Canyon trails.
The city has received numerous complaints about dogs that aren't on leashes attacking other dogs and scaring hikers and about pet owners who don't clean up after their animals, said Jay Lowder, the city's public services director.
"The trail-use experience (for hikers) goes down as a result," he said.
Numerous complaints have come from hikers who have been startled by dogs bounding along the narrow trails, Geier said.
"You come around a corner and encounter a dog running at large," he said. "It scares the heck out of you."
Some owners let their dogs roam on trails because they are in the wilderness, Lowder said.
However, owners should instead take their canines to the city's only off-leash dog park, at 2450 A Ave., north of Serge Simmons Field near Fort Buenaventura, Lowder said.
Built with about $62,000 in Weber County RAMP grant funds, the dog park is on 2.5 acres that was previously a mud bog. The fund comes from a tax approved by Weber County voters in 2004 that allows the county to impose a local sales tax of one-tenth of 1 percent, which is 1 cent on a $10 sale, to improve recreation, arts, museums and parks.
The park has separate fenced-in areas for both small and large dogs and an agility course with obstacles that can be used for training.
There are several watering stations, and each entrance to the park has double gates to ensure that dogs can't escape.
Comments