Putting Teeth To Yakima Leash Law

It's a quick way to ruin a great day, an attack by a dog. It's happening in Yakima more and more. In fact, there have been a total of five cases in just the past few days. KIMA investigates what the city is doing to put more teeth into the leash law.

Yakima's recent sunshine and warmth isn't just being enjoyed by you but also man’s best friend. That enjoyment can quickly be taken away by an unleashed dog.

"A dog bite, an incident can happen in seconds,” said Animal Control Officer, Ben Zigon.

KIMA spent the day at several Yakima parks where Zigon said unleashed pups are all too common. Just five minutes into our time at Franklin, we saw two and came across plenty of fed up neighbors.

"Dogs need to get out, but if they're unleashed, it's a threat to our dogs and other people as well,” said Austin Rodriguez.

And some of those dogs and people who have experienced that threat are the Kaezle’s.

"I heard my dog yelp and all the sudden, I threw my body on top of that dog,” said Rudy Kaezle. “He took a big chunk out of my dog."

And that exact scenario is happening all too often in the city, calling for Yakima Code's and Animal Control to step up.

"From this day forward, if you are walking your dog and your dog is not on a leash, you will receive a citation,” said Joe Caruso. “There are no more warnings."

And with that citation running dog owners $250, it'll be one expensive trip to the park.

The city is also going to cracking down of dog owners not cleaning up after their pet. That ticket will run you $100.