Penalties and Fines:
You may be cited to appear in court and fined up to $500.00 per violation. The judge may also order restitution for damages and/or your dog removed from the City of West Linn.
Your dog may be impounded which will incur impound fees, boarding fees, and vaccination fees while at Clackamas County Dog Control if found to be at large while the officer is responding to the scattering garbage complaint.
Thoughts From the Animal Control Officer:
Getting into garbage is seriously hazardous to our canine friends. Garbage cans usually contain spoiled food, household chemicals or even automotive compounds that may be deadly to your pet. If a dog gets into garbage while loose it may be hours before its owner sees there is anything wrong, and even if the sick dog is rushed to the vet, their treatment options are limited without knowing exactly what it is making the dog ill. The chances of finding out exactly what your dog ingested while out scattering the neighbor’s garbage are not good!
After the dog moves on, the scattered garbage may also act as an attractant for wildlife such as rats, raccoons, opossums and skunks, all of which can be destructive to property. Scattered garbage can also cause dangerous situations for wildlife, which may become tangled in wires, strings and containers, or ingest harmful chemicals or bits of non-digestible materials.
Someone has to clean it up…and if the officer finds it was your dog that scattered the garbage, it will most likely be you!