San Marcos residents who own aggressive animals could find themselves branded as “irresponsible animal owners” under a strict new animal control ordinance.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the City Council updated its animal control laws to allow stiff penalties against people whose dogs run loose, or have injured other pets or people.

The new ordinance tightens rules governing problem animals and their owners, including a provision that would let officials identify some people with dangerous pets as “irresponsible animal owners.” It would also spell out record-keeping requirements for rabies vaccinations, and clarify conditions for kennel operators.

Under the new ordinance, officials with the city or the San Diego County Humane Society, which handles animal enforcement for the city, can impound the animals of people who are declared “irresponsible owners,” and prohibit them from owning any animals for up to three years.


Councilwoman Rebecca Jones said the proposed changes stem from animal problems in the Knob Hill neighborhood of the city, where residents have complained about loose and aggressive dogs roaming the neighborhood.

However, city officials said there hasn’t been a recent surge in animal complaints. Since January 2017, the city’s code enforcement department received six complaints about barking dogs and two calls about loose dogs. It’s unclear how many such complaints the San Diego Humane Society has fielded.

The San Marcos City Council was scheduled to decide on the revised ordinance last month, but delayed the vote to allow community members to speak on the issue. On Tuesday, however, no members of the public addressed the council on the new ordinance, either in favor of, or in opposition to it.

According to the ordinance, the term “irresponsible owner” is a person who has received three or more citations within the past two years for violating rules governing unrestrained animals, guard dogs, and nuisance or dangerous animals, as well as other regulations.


Dangerous animals, under the ordinance, are those that have bitten or attacked a person or another domestic animal twice within four years, or have seriously injured or killed a person once within four years.

While owners of those pets may have lost custody of the offending animals, city officials said some owners have continued to keep other problem pets despite a track record of poor safety.

Animal control officers must investigate complaints and exercise judgment on whether an owner is handling animals irresponsibly, said Stephen MacKinnon, Chief of Humane Law Enforcement for the agency. The ordinance seeks to set standards for that threshold, he said.

“A lot of this is just making it much more clear to the public as well as the officers,” MacKinnon said.


People who are declared irresponsible owners can challenge the decision through an administrative review of the record, and can ultimately appeal through Superior Court, said Assistant City Attorney Wendy House. House said she’s not aware of any other local agency with similar rules, noting that the ordinance is unique within San Diego County.

The updated ordinance also requires dog owners to keep their animals’ rabies vaccination certificates for as long as the vaccine is effective, and to produce the certificate if their dog bites anyone. And it updates city regulations for the operation and licensing of animal kennels, including a provision that kennels must protect pets from exposure to wind, as well as rain and snow.

MacKinnon said that animal enforcement officers who handle complaints typically educate pet owners about safety, animal welfare, noise restrictions and other issues, before issuing citations or removing animals. Jones said the city took a strict but necessary step to make sure people take proper care of their pets.

“Obviously, this is not a pleasant situation,” she said. “I’m satisfied that we’ve done everything we can to make sure that it’s defensible legally.”



deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan