Lafourche councilman says he’ll redraft dangerous-animal law

Civility is not a sign of weakness
May 28, 2014
‘I’m going to Disney World!’ Tips for saving money on summer trip
May 28, 2014
Civility is not a sign of weakness
May 28, 2014
‘I’m going to Disney World!’ Tips for saving money on summer trip
May 28, 2014

Lafourche Councilman John Arnold’s proposal to institute a permit fee on pet owners and tighten the regulations on animals that have been deemed dangerous or vicious received no council support other than his own, but the dogged Bayou Blue representative said he would push forth with “Plan B.”


The councilman will commence work on a new proposal regulating the ownership of animals “because I have children and they live in Lafourche Parish,” he said during a council recess. “There are more ways than one to skin a cat.”

Arnold’s proposal did not target specific breeds or animals, but it was drafted in response to a domestic dog fatally mauling a 4-year-old Houma girl in her family’s apartment earlier this year, he said.

Arnold’s ordinance would have levied an annual $25 permit fee on all animal owners, banned the backyard breeding of any animals deemed dangerous or vicious and mandated the tattooing and micro-chipping of animals so labeled. It also would have slightly altered the conditions under which an animal could be deemed dangerous to include attacks to people on the animal’s property so long as the attacks were unprovoked.


Arnold said revenues derived from the permit fee and penalties to disobedient owners would have been dedicated to paying the salary of an animal-control officer, a position he wants the parish to create. That officer would be educated and granted control through later parish laws to subjectively determine whether an animal is dangerous, Arnold suggested.

It’s unclear what Arnold will change from his initial proposal, but he did continue to stress the importance of the control officer and admitted his regulations were not crafted and relayed to the public as succinctly as they could have been.

“It needs to be cleaned up a little bit,” Arnold said during the recess. During the meeting, however, he said it was “put together very well.”


Ultimately, the councilman said, his initiative would have laid the groundwork for future, more-impactful regulations. “This is our stepping stone,” he told a supporter who addressed the council. “Right now we’ve got to get our foot in the door.”

Arnold championed the initiative also in the hope “irresponsible” animal owners would become aware of possible shortfalls in their oversight and treatment of pets, he said. “Micro-chipping your animal is only common sense.”

Arnold’s proposal, which had written support from the Humane Society of Louisiana and American Kennel Club, failed by a 1-to-6 vote. Councilmen Aaron Caillouet and Phillip Gouaux were absent. Opponents criticized the proposal as vaguely composed, unenforceable and a government overreach.


It’s not parish government’s job to regulate animal ownership, Councilman Lindel Toups said, pointing out that residents can take matters into their own hands.

“If I want to have a dog for my kids to play with at my house, if the dog bites my kids, you ain’t got to worry because I’m going to shoot the dog,” Toups said.

Councilman Joe Fertitta said the parish doesn’t have the funds to enforce Arnold’s proposal and agreed with Toups that local government’s job isn’t to prevent all conceivable accidents.


“My son was killed in a car accident,” Fertitta said, “so we’re going to ban cars?”

Concerns expressed by several parish residents who addressed the council were varied. Some conveyed skepticism that the ordinance didn’t target pit bulls, but one said Arnold’s proposals weren’t strict enough.

“There are so many dogs that I see that are inhumanely tethered, and we don’t have any tether laws,” said resident Tina Robichaux, using the issue as one example that the parish should revamp its pet ordinances.


Another resident represented more of a libertarian mindset.

“What gives you the right to tell me I’ve got to have my dog spayed or neutered, if I’ve got it chained up or I’ve got it fenced in,” asked Arnulto “Ernie” Garcia. “That’s my dog. That’s my family member.”

Existing parish law defines an animal as dangerous if it, when unprovoked, attacks a person or animal on public or private property, chases a person on public property or has a known disposition to attack unprovoked.


Animals are deemed vicious if they, while unprovoked, inflict severe injury to a human on public or private property, kill a domestic animal, attack a person after being deemed dangerous or are used for the purpose of dog fighting.

The parish’s three-page ordinance lays out various control regulations for animals labeled dangerous or vicious. The control measures include animals being quarantined from the public and potentially euthanized if animal owners do not comply with the law.