Beverly Hills : Bite Put in Dog Law

City officials have decided to sic the Department of Recreation and Parks on the owners of nuisance dogs.

The city will be advising all residents by mail that it is illegal to let dogs run free or to defecate on other people’s property, including public property. Dog owners are also required to clean up after their pets.

The word will also go out on the city’s cable TV station, on posters in public buildings, and through pet stores, veterinarians’ offices, homeowner groups, schools and the Chamber of Commerce.

“It just seems to be getting worse, so we thought, ‘Let’s embark-- embark , that’s a good word--on this voluntary campaign,’ ” said Glenda Berman, an assistant to Recreation and Parks Director Richard Putnam.

“If this approach proves unsuccessful . . . the city will institute more aggressive enforcement measures,” Putnam said. “It is hoped, however, that pet owners will take pride in their community and voluntarily abate the current animal nuisance problem in their neighborhoods.”

A violation may be treated either as an infraction of municipal law, which carries a fine of up to $250, or as a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail.

The city has also received a growing number of calls from neighbors in apartment houses who are disturbed by the barking of dogs left alone when their owners go out, Berman said.

Although barking is not a violation of the law, these complaints are referred to the city attorney’s office in an effort to seek a solution, she said.

Complaints may be reported to the Los Angeles SPCA at 730-5300. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals patrols residential streets in Beverly Hills as the city’s enforcement agency for dog nuisance problems.