WAUKESHA, Wis. — The City of Waukesha is proposing a new vicious dog ordinance that could fine dog owners up to $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for a repeat incident involving dog bites or dog attacks.
Watch: Dog owners react to Waukesha's proposed dog bites fines
TMJ4 News spoke to dog owners at Waukesha's Minooka Park dog exercise area about the potential changes, and opinions are mixed on the proposed fines.
The Common Council recently introduced the ordinance in committee to address what the city calls an enforcement "gap." Waukesha previously relied on the county to handle dog bite cases through a humane officer, but when that position was eliminated, the city says it did not have anything to fill in that gap. So now it wants to adopt state law at the local level.
"I would be for an ordinance, yes," said Judy McDonough, a dog owner at the park.
Under the proposed ordinance, the first time a dog bites or attacks another dog or person, the owner could face fines up to $2,500. A second offense would carry a $5,000 penalty.
McDonough supports the concept but believes the high fines should not happen for a first-time offense, only if someone is a repeat offender.
"If they have had a history and you see that continued behavior, it should be a painful fine at that point," McDonough said.
"I think $2,500 is a lot of money," said Jan Rathke, another dog owner at the park.
Kerry Bruett opposes the ordinance entirely. As someone who rescues and trains dogs, he believes existing options are sufficient to handle dog bite incidents without adding municipal fines.
"I just don't think we need another ordinance for this," Bruett said. "I would take it to a civil court if something was necessary."
The Common Council is expected to discuss the vicious dog ordinance again at its October 21 meeting.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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