During the month of October, police officers in the City of Morro Bay are enforcing the ‘Leash Up It’s The Law’ campaign.
“I’d say it’s pretty important, especially to our community members and to our police department. We do emphasize it a lot because it prevents dog fights. It also prevents the dogs from traffic,” said Officer Jason Ta, Morro Bay Police Department.
Morro Bay Police Chief Amy Watkins says Cloisters Park, Del Mar Park, and Lila Keiser Park are the top spots for off-leash dog complaints.
“Every now and then we will get some dog bites with some dogs off the leash, so I would say it’s a pretty frequent problem in the City of Morro Bay,” Officer Ta said.
On Monday morning, Officer Ta was on patrol at Cloisters Park. It took about 10 minutes before he noticed someone not complying with the leash law.
“I’m going to issue you a verbal warning in regards to it. Next time, if I see you with your dog off the leash, I am going to be issuing you a citation,” Ta told one dog owner.
“I only let him off once or twice a week,” said BJ Aldrich, a dog owner and Morro Bay resident.
Aldrich says while she lets her dog off leash at times, she also understands the law’s purpose.
“I love playing ball with my dog in a big open field but I know off-leash dogs can be a real problem. I try to be extra careful about being around only when other dogs are not here,” Aldrich said.
Audrey Gendron says she walks her dog twice a day and says she encounters off-leash dogs several times a week at Cloisters Park.
“I mean they do have a good time but you have to sit there with your dog on a leash. She would like to do the same thing but I would never do it if there were a big dog running like that,” Gendron said.
Officer Ta says the department receives around one to three calls a day for off-leash dogs throughout the city.
“Sometimes there are not a lot of people but during our tourist season with multiple dogs being around, it sometimes can result in dog fights and we want to prevent that as much as possible as well as dog owners involved in disturbances with each other,” Ta said.
“Most owners are careful. Some are not, but you just don’t know,” Gendron said.
Chief Watkins says the department has issued around 40 verbal warnings for dog owners caught with off-leash dogs since their enforcement campaign began on October 8. Officers will start issuing citations this week.
“I think it’s a good thing. We have a dog park just on the other side of the highway at Del Mar Park and if people want to play with their dogs off-leash, that’s the place to go,” Gendron said.
According to Morro Bay Police, off-leash dog citations are around $65.
