The rather small space where the Paton city council meets was full for the council meeting Jan. 13 when discussion of a pet ordinance was on the agenda. Some residents thought an ordinance would be passed limiting the number of pets in a household.
According to Paton city clerk Mary Phillips, the city council is in the process of reviewing all city ordinances as required by the Iowa Code. The matter of dogs running at large and barking dogs has come to the attention of city council members. “We have no particular goals with a pet ordinance. We’re in the beginning stage of looking at what other towns use,” Phillips said. The council is reviewing ordinances from Jefferson, Gowrie, Ankeny and Pleasant Hill.
Linn Price, a rural Paton resident and director of Animal Protection and Education (APE) charity, attended the meeting. She gave the council a copy of an ordinance she drafted for APE. Price noted after the meeting that all Paton council members are dog owners.
Paton has a nuisance ordinance, and that has been used successfully to encourage at least one resident to keep a frequent barker inside more.
“We just want to take a closer look. There’s nothing in our ordinances that talks about pets,” Phillips said.
A pet ordinance may be on a future council agenda.
