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ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Commission updated an unenforced law that could have sent dog owners to jail if their dogs were caught defecating in someone else’s yard.
Most dog-related offenses in the county, except cases involving vicious dogs or cruelty against animals, were downgraded from class-B misdemeanors to infractions at the Washington County Commission meeting Tuesday.
The previous law automatically designated all dog-related offenses as class-B misdemeanors, so people could be punished for not placing tags on their dogs, allowing their dogs to defecate where they shouldn’t or not locking a female dog in a kennel when it’s in heat.
A class-B misdemeanor, which can carry punishments of a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail, is not an appropriate punishment for those kinds of offenses, deputy county attorney Eric Clarke told St. George News.
“We’re decriminalizing owning a dog,” Clarke said.
An issue with the previous law was raised when a woman was cited for her dog pooping in someone else’s yard. The woman attempted to pay the fine for her citation but couldn’t when she learned she was charged with a misdemeanor, which would have forced her to have a court appearance, justice court prosecutor Rachael Beckstrom said.
Read the full article at St. George News.
