Saturday, December 18, 2004

Get dogs under control

The attack by a vicious dog on two Albuquerque children earlier this month, and increasing reports statewide of dog attacks — including at least four in Socorro in the past month — have exposed a tragedy just waiting to happen in New Mexico.

If you or your child were to be bitten by a vicious dog, what do you imagine your recourse might be?

You might imagine that the owner would be charged with a crime, prosecuted and at least fined — but you would almost certainly be wrong.

The first thing you would discover is that there is no state criminal law concerning dogs attacking humans — although, in typical New Mexico style, there are criminal laws if that vicious dog attacks livestock.

You would also discover that while most communities and counties have an animal control ordinance, the vast majority of them lack teeth, so to speak.

Socorro, for instance, has an ordinance that spells out what is and isn't permissible when it comes to domestic animals. The ordinance even specifically bans vicious animals "unless confined so that the animal cannot attack any person."

Unfortunately, the ordinance doesn't have any established penalties, so punishment is at the discretion of the municipal judge, who has limited fine and jail-time capabilities.

The vicious dog can be impounded and even put down under certain circumstances, but that still brings no penalty to the real culprit — the owner, who bears responsibility both for the dog being vicious in the first place and then letting it run loose.

The victim's only real recourse is through a civil lawsuit. That means finding a lawyer willing to take on a dog bite case, which is no easy task, and then trying to collect any judgment.

Perhaps that will change soon.

The Albuquerque attacks have so incensed Gov. Bill Richardson that he was told lawmakers he wants a tough new law to come out of the upcoming 60-day legislative session with stiff penalties for owners of vicious dogs involved in attacks.

While Richardson's proposal is not breed specific, Albuquerque Republican State Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort plans to introduce legislation specifically targeting pit bulls, the breed involved in the Albuquerque attacks and at least three of the recent Socorro incidents.

Beffort wants a complete ban on breeding pit bulls in the state, a $1,000 licensing fee for each pit bull and a fine of as much as $5,000 plus jail time for the owner of a pit bull that bites someone.

The chances of Beffort's plan becoming law are virtually nil, but Richardson has demonstrated that when he really wants something from the Legislature, he gets it.

A tough state "dangerous dog" law, which would allow cases to go to magistrate or district court where stiffer penalties can be handed out, can't come soon enough.

Anyone who walks around Socorro, especially walking a dog on a leash, is well aware of the number of loose dogs, some dangerous. And it's a problem that's growing, says city Animal Control Officer Frank Marquez.

"People don't recognize that this (loose dangerous dogs) is a serious problem in Socorro," he said. "What's really frustrating is that you take the dog away from them and two or three weeks later they've got another one."

That's because there are no consequences. You can't force people to be responsible pet owners. But you can make irresponsibility very costly and inconvenient — before it kills someone.

That's what Gov. Richardson is aiming for, and it's an effort that deserves broad support.

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version