With the proposed incentivized dog licensing program, there have been questions about how the city handles aggressive, vicious and sick or injured dogs.

Fort Smith resident Richard Morris said at the Animal Services Advisory Board meeting Wednesday that Ward 1 Director Keith Lau is interested in statistics related to the number of these types of dogs.

Lau said Friday, however, he hasn’t specifically requested the numbers of vicious or sick dogs taken to HOPE Humane Society. He’s just curious to have the information in light of the ordinance proposal and pet overcrowding.

Fort Smith police and Humane Society board members said these are hard to track due to the nuanced nature of the issue.

Sergeant Stephen Krumm said the Police Department doesn’t specifically track the number of calls for vicious dogs, because that’s not a call type. He said people call in “bad dogs” or those running loose.

Fort Smith animal control responded to about 3,600 loose dog reports in 2018, Krumm said. The shelter started this year noting which males come in unaltered. LeeAnn Hicklin Cox, shelter board treasurer and ASAB member, said it will record which females are spayed, but it is difficult to tell unless they’ve been tattooed.

Hicklin Cox also said dogs must also be deemed aggressive or vicious through specific testing. Krumm said this occurs after a call about a bite or negative dog behavior.

On April 6, officers responded to a call about a dog bite, according to a police report. The report states the victim told officers dogs ran up to her, wagging their tails, but when she went to pet them, one began biting her.

The victim’s uncle called the police, and upon arrival, he said “animal wardens have been in the area multiple times regarding this issue but stressed his frustration that nothing has been done about the violations” and he was “tired of multiple people in this neighborhood allowing their dogs to run at large,” the report says.

Officers made contact with the owner, who did not deny her dog was running at large and bit the victim, the report says. The owner was given a warning for her dog running at large and not having proof of vaccinations. The victim did not press charges.

Hicklin Cox said there was a report of a dog biting a 12-year-old girl. The dog was euthanized and sent for rabies testing, which ultimately falls onto the shelter and city. It is unclear if the incidents are the same, but Hicklin Cox, said owners in these situations should have to pay a fine.

“The owner should’ve paid for that,” Hicklin Cox said. “If they’re not taking care of their animal and it hurts someone else, it becomes a city problem and a city responsibility.”

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Humane Society of the United States, American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the National Institutes of Health say pet alteration typically lengthens a dog’s lifespan, significantly reduces roaming and aggression problems.

This means, if an unaltered dog is aggressive or roaming, which leads to unwanted litters and other accidents, having it spayed or neutered typically fixes the problem. According to an abstract on the AVMA website, pet behaviorists reported that 90% of all dogs presented to them were unaltered males and more than 76% of dog bites were by intact males.

Hicklin Cox noted many dogs come to the Humane Society showing signs of aggression due to a negative living situation but are later adopted by loving families.

The directors heard the ASAB's presentation about the ordinance at a study session at the end of March. It was supposed to be voted on April 2 but was removed from the meeting agenda.

“I don’t know what the right solution is. I know licensure is the right thing in the long run,” Lau said, but noted it will likely take multiple years to see a significant difference.

City Administrator Carl Geffken recently requested the formation of a working group to discuss the potential implementation processes and costs if the Board of Directors approves the ordinance. No official meeting date has been set.