BEWARE OF DOG

It was a happy day this week when Kootenai County pup, Riot, was declared no longer dangerous — but how he, and other dogs, get on the list can be a lengthy process.

Under county ordinance 5.1.103, a dangerous dog is one that "without justified provocation, has inflicted death or serious injury on a person or domestic animal" or been previously found "at-risk" by the sheriff or by the district court and "after that bites or physically attacks a person or domestic animal," or has previously been declared dangerous. According to the most recent amendment to the code, the owner of a dangerous dog will receive a misdemeanor but can be convicted of violating the rule, and the dog can be "destroyed."

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office was recently contacted by Riot's owner, Kenneth Wikum, and his neighbor, asking for the declaration and any charges against Wikum to be dropped or amended. Riot had been declared dangerous over a year ago after the neighbor had reported it running loose multiple times and on two separate occasions killing his chickens, said KCSO Lead Animal Control Officer Sandy Osburn. 

"The neighbor whose chickens had been killed sent in a letter that said he doesn't believe the dog is dangerous, and the dog hasn't run over to his resident since it had been declared dangerous," Osburn said. "Mr. Wikum also requested the declaration be dropped or amended so that his dog didn't have the stigma."

Only a few dogs have been deemed dangerous in Osburn's 11 years on the force, she said, and only two are currently in the county. 

"There was one that was just declared dangerous, and another one declared dangerous a couple of years ago," Osburn said. "There was one a few years ago that was declared dangerous and appealed by the owners, but ultimately rehomed and left the county instead of euthanized." 

Once a dog is declared dangerous, it is considered a public nuisance, and its owner is required to keep it in secured indoor confinement or an enclosed, locked structure on the owner's property. The dog is also prohibited from leaving without a short leash and, depending on the severity, a muzzle. 

Most problematic for many owners is the provision that requires them to take out a public liability insurance policy on the dog. In her experience, Kootenai Humane Society executive director Debbie Jeffrey said the highest liability she has seen was $200,000 for one dog, with premiums at $2,000 a year. 

Other criteria like regular sheriff inspections, proof of identification, or possible tattooing of the dog are also in the county code. If owners cannot meet all other measures, the dog will be impounded at KCSO or the local Humane Society for 10 days. 

After a dog is declared dangerous and needs impoundment, they head to the local Humane Society for quarantine, Jeffrey said, to ensure they don't have rabies or any other disease. Unfortunately, she said, many of the dogs that come in from animal control are repeat offenders. 

"A lot of these dogs that come in, it's not their first time, not their first bite or aggression, and the owners have tried to work with them, and sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't," Jeffrey said. "We assess them, work with them, and see how it changes their behavior. It depends on the dog. It's not always black and white, sometimes the situation the dog was in made them because of training or a lack thereof."

Jeffrey says KHS has brought in trainers to help assess dangerous or at-risk dogs. 

The last resort, Osburn said, is euthanization. 

"We can impound a dog because we believe it is a safety risk, but the owner can ultimately keep the dog, and then we don't have to destroy it," Osburn said. "If they don't follow the rules, then there comes a time where we have the legal right to keep the community safe, and we have to follow the guidelines set in the ordinance."