By Brenna R. Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BURLINGTON - Stray dogs without tags would be held for two fewer days, poisonous snakes would be outlawed and ferrets would be vaccinated against rabies.

Those and other provisions are part of proposed changes to Boone County's animal control law.

The changes will "update (the ordinance) with the community's needs," said Beckey Reiter, director of Boone County Animal Care and Control.

The department and its eight-member advisory board have been working on the new law for two years, Reiter said. The updated law had a first reading in Boone Fiscal Court this week. The court will vote on it May 20.

Under the new law, stray dogs without tags would be held for a minimum of five instead of seven days before being put up for adoption or euthanized.

There are 3,740 licensed dogs in Boone County, but Reiter estimates that's only 10 percent of all dogs in the county, even though the current ordinance requires dogs to be registered.

In Boone County, stray dogs are reclaimed in an average of 2.3 days, Reiter said, better than the national average of three days. And of the adult dogs picked up, 46 percent are returned to their owners, she said.

Dogs that are licensed are often reclaimed within hours, she said.

Under the new ordinance, when a licensed dog or cat is found, Animal Control will send a certified letter to the owner within three days instead of the current seven days. If the letter is undeliverable, the department will hold the animal for 14 days.

The department euthanizes animals by injection if they are not claimed or adopted and the shelter becomes overcrowded.

In fiscal year 2002-2003, 41 percent of the 2,332 dogs picked up were euthanized, while 72 percent of 1,937 cats were. About 242 of those animals were euthanized at their owners' request, Reiter said.

The new ordinance also gives animal control officers greater authority to take animals into custody.

Under the new ordinance, an animal would be considered abandoned when it is left for 24 hours without anyone checking on it, or providing food and water. Currently the abandonment waiting period is 48 hours.

Animals that scratch or bite someone and then are not properly quarantined could be taken to the shelter for quarantine.

If a case involves legal action, a vicious animal could be held at the animal shelter under the new ordinance until the court case is resolved. Also before returning a vicious animal, the department would be able to implant a microchip in the animal and neuter a male.

That's because unneutered male dogs can often be dangerous. A study in Louisville showed that 80 percent of dog bites were caused by male dogs that were chained and not neutered, Reiter said.

Animal control officers also would be able to save an animal in immediate danger, even if it means going onto private property.

Because ferrets are becoming popular household pets, under the new ordinance they must be vaccinated against rabies.

"We are putting them in the same category as dogs and cats," she said. "In some parts of the country they still see them as a form of wildlife."

The ordinance makes it illegal to sell, own or keep a poisonous reptile.

People who have poisonous reptiles will be able to keep the pets, but should register them with the county.

"We want to know what they are and where they are kept," she said.

Penalties for violating the county's animal control ordinance would also be enhanced.

Instead of warnings, animal control officers would issue misdemeanor notices.

The notice includes a court date should the animal owner want to have the case heard in District Court.

The new ordinance raises the maximum penalties for mistreating animals from $250 and 30 days in jail to $500 and a year in jail.

Livestock owners who let their animals run loose would be fined from $50 to $250.

As subdivisions spring up next to farmland, the number of calls about livestock running free has increased, Reiter said.

Last year there were 70 calls about roaming livestock, including one call in which 10 horses were running through the Triple Crown subdivision in Union, Reiter said.

Half the fees paid to animal control will go to a program to spay and neuter animals. Under the program, the county issues $30 certificates for spaying or neutering, which can then be used as a coupon at local veterinarians.

For more information, call Animal Care and Control at (859) 586-5285.

E-mail bkelly@enquirer.com