Anchorage considers tightening dog leash law after years of citizen complaints

A proposed change to Anchorage’s leash law would rule out electronic collars and require dogs to be walked on a physical leash in public places.

Changes to the leash law have been in the works for years and came after repeated complaints and reports of off-leash and aggressive dogs, said Michelle Sinnott, who is a chair of the volunteer-based Title 17 committee that is working under the Animal Control Advisory Board to draft the ordinance.

An average of about 2,400 calls are received by Anchorage Animal Care and Control each year about off-leash or unconfined animals, mostly dogs, said Tamiah Liebersbach, the administration manager for the municipal health department, which works alongside the Animal Control Advisory Board. Hundreds of the calls are regarding an aggressive animal, she said.

“It’s not so much that the complaints have increased, but that they’ve been steadily high over time,” Liebersbach said.

The new ordinance would mean a change of routine for many Anchorage residents, including Anne Jensen and her dog Freya, regulars on the municipality’s trails.

They walk on Hillside paths and Freya, a 130-pound Tibetan mastiff, loves to slide down snowy hills at Far North Bicentennial Park. Jensen said she kept Freya on a leash until she was 3 years old, but now Freya is 6 and she lets her off-leash with an E-Collar.

“If I need to get her attention I can, but she’s a very social dog and she’s a very friendly dog,” Jensen said.

Jensen said she keeps Freya close or holds onto her collar if someone is walking nearby who she thinks might feel uncomfortable around dogs. Jensen said leash law changes would make the time she spends with her dog outdoors less enjoyable for both of them.

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During an advisory board meeting Thursday, people testified for and against the proposed changes. Many dog owners said the current law did not need to be changed, Liebersbach said, but about a third of the people participating told of negative encounters with off-leash dogs.

“I think it is really tough because those are both groups of people that we want to be able to have access to the trail and access to the outdoors,” she said. “How do you balance that access and make sure everybody can still have it, but also be safe and be comfortable?”

Sinnott said she views the proposal as a public safety issue.

“There are people who are afraid of dogs,” she said. “We had people testify at the meeting where their children had been attacked by off-leash dogs.”

The board is receiving comments by email until Friday. Liebersbach said 241 individuals and groups have voiced opinions on the proposed changes.

One of the biggest concerns, Sinnott said, was about people who want to bike or ski and have their dog run off-leash alongside them. Liebersbach said attachments like leashes would be allowed to be hooked to a bicycle under the new proposal.

Anchorage has dedicated areas for dogs to go off-leash, including Arctic Benson Park, Connors Bog, Russian Jack Springs Park, the South Anchorage Sports Park, Valley of the Moon Park and Whisper Faith Kovach Park. There are also designated trails at Far North Bicentennial Park and University Lake Park where dogs can roam off-leash.

State parks and federal lands have their own rules for dogs.

Bill Cole, who has been skijoring in Anchorage for about 25 years, said the changes wouldn’t directly affect that sport because the dog and person are physically tethered while skijoring. But the changes could make it nearly impossible for people who want to ski or bike with their dog alongside them, he said.

“I see lots of bicyclists out on single-track trails with a dog and you just can’t really do that with the dog on a lead or tied to the bicycle. Similarly with skiing on a small trail like that,” he said.

The new proposal also seeks to clarify language in the current ordinance. The current law allows for dogs to be off-leash if they’re doing an activity that can’t be done with a leash in an “area normally associated with that activity.”

The intent was to allow for dogs to be off-leash for activities like retrieving a ball or agility courses, but Sinnott said it’s being taken advantage of because it is being misinterpreted. Under the proposed changes, dogs would still be allowed to go off-leash for those activities but the ordinance specifically notes that they cannot be on a sidewalk, street, multiuse trail or path, or in a residential area and doesn’t affect the general public.

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“Somebody can say, ‘There are always off-leash dogs running with people on the Coastal Trail so that’s a place where running off-leash is regularly done,’” Liebersbach said.

Currently, dogs are supposed to be on a leash or electronic collar on multiuse trails or paths, sidewalks, streets and in residential areas.

Very few leash law citations are issued every year because many times they are thrown out by a hearing officer, Liebersbach said.

Enforcement mostly runs on a complaint-based system within animal control, although Liebersbach said the officers do occasionally spend time educating the public about the leash laws by waiting at trailheads or parking lots. Officers prefer to educate people about the leash law and issue a warning during the first interaction. If someone is found to be violating the law again, the fine is $100 the first time, $200 the second time and $300 for the third instance and any after.

Sinnott said the new proposal is far from becoming law.

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The committee will review the public comments before it meets again on Feb. 11, and it may make additional changes based on the feedback.

This was the second time a proposal for changes in the leash law underwent public comment. If the committee makes major changes to the current proposal, Liebersbach said, it could undergo public comment again.

Eventually the proposal will need to be approved by the advisory board, passed along to the mayor’s office and be introduced to the Anchorage Assembly. There would be another opportunity for public comment at that stage.

“Not to say that it’s going to be forever and ever before we decide what to do, but there’s more steps in the process where the public can be engaged and make sure that their opinions about this issue are heard,” Sinnott said.

Public comment on the proposed changes will be accepted until Friday at 5 p.m. and can be emailed to animalcontrolcodechanges@anchorageak.gov.