Panama reemphasizing leash law dog biting child on school grounds
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PANAMA -- The village of Panama has been in conversation with Panama Central School and is looking to remind residents of the village's leash law for dogs following an incident a few weeks ago.
During the village's November meeting, Mayor William Schneider said the incident took place two weeks ago at a school event and he was unaware of it at first because it immediately went to a higher level.
"We had a child get bitten by a dog that was off-leash, off the property," Schneider said. "The sheriff's department got involved; our dog control officer got involved but the sheriff's department also got involved."
The incident took place at the school, and Superintendent Emily Harvey sent a letter to the village board expressing concerns about the increasing amount of dogs that have been coming onto school property unsupervised or off-leash. Harvey acknowledged that dogs are part of the community and that this issue may require some collaboration between the school and village for the continued safety of students and staff and village residents. Schneider said he has talked with Harvey about the incident and how they can work together on this issue.
Schneider added the incident involved a village resident whose dog was unattended and went onto school grounds. The dog is currently in a 10-day quarantine and the sheriff's department remains involved. The younger child who was bit was at the school for the midget football program.
"The village leash law is pretty sound and it has always been that you must be in control of your dog, and if it is off of your property it has to be in your control and on a leash," Schneider said. "Also, if it's on your property you don't necessarily have to have it leashed, but you also have to be in control of it. I think the days of somebody letting Fido off its leash and letting it out the backdoor to do its business and then forgetting about it for 10 or 15 minutes are over."
Schneider emphasized that the village is not anti-dog, and with the number of residents that live in close proximity to the school and all of the school's events and activities things get difficult and it is never guaranteed how dogs will react to other people or things going on. Schneider added the village has always had people bringing their dogs to outdoor school events, and they need to be mindful of that and maybe not bring them. Village residents are to be cleaning up after their dogs as well.
Schneider said while he would never bring his own dog to an event, he cannot speak for everyone, and he has seen dogs get into fights at school events that he was coaching. Additionally, he said he knows people love their animals but reactions to certain situations with noise and crowds and potentially other animals can be unpredictable.
"The main point I want to get is to remind residents that there's a leash law and that it must be in your control on a leash at all times while not on your property, and while on your property the animal has to be under your control," Schneider said. "It doesn't have to be on a leash, but it has to be in your control."
A representative of the sheriff's department is looking into what other communities do for repeat offenders to leash laws for the village. Schneider noted that any incidents have to start with the dog control officer and the sheriff does not get involved unless there is an altercation involving the animal.
"We know that animals get off their leashes sometimes and we know that not all security electric fences are 100% guaranteed," Schneider said. "But there are certain animals that are constant repeat offenders all the time. I know there's a fair amount of people who like to bring their dogs to pick up their kids, and again if you are coming into the community the leash law applies to everybody. It's not just village residents, you have to make sure the dog is kept on a leash."
Schneider said he has also talked with the sheriff's department about potential fines for breaking the leash law, and that that would be handled like a property issue, though he added he does not want to have to have the dog control officer handing out tickets for the leash law.
"I would hope we wouldn't have to get to that point," Schneider said. "I would hope everybody would use their common sense from now on. I'm going to be talking with the school, and we might have to set up some rules like don't bring an animal to an outdoor event."
Schneider said right now the most important thing is reemphasizing the village's leash law with residents, and that it is an ongoing issue everyone should be aware of. Residents need to take care of themselves and their own dogs for now, he said, and the village will potentially start looking into penalties for those who do not comply.
"It was a very unfortunate accident and my thoughts and prayers go with the family of the young child that had to have that happen to them," Schneider said. "It's a very difficult thing because dogs are part of our families. I'm not anti-dog by any means; I have three and have always had dogs. ... It makes it difficult when people aren't paying attention."