(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A petition demanding dog leash laws be enforced in Colorado Springs has now reached 775 signatures as of Tuesday evening, May 13.
FOX21 News is getting answers from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR), whose Animal Law Enforcement (ALE) unit is responsible for enforcing the city’s dog leash laws.
“We do proactively patrol parks, we are out there,” said Officer Kelly Napieralski with El Paso Division of ALE.
Napieralski said some of the unleashed dog incidents come with unfortunate timing.
“The attack happens before we’re able to respond or we’re not there, so we’re responding after the fact,” Napieralski said.
Napieralski also said aggressive dogs not on leashes are a problem. According to HSPPR, dangerous animal investigations are up 28% compared to this time in 2024. Calls for aggressive dogs are currently at 256 through the month of April.
For those who are signing the petition for enforcing dog leash laws, some of the confusion is coming from being able to report an aggressive unleashed dog, as some say it’s too much information to provide. We asked Napieralski what exactly community members should do if they encounter an aggressive unleashed dog.
“Our dispatch is going to ask a lot of questions for descriptions of the animals as well as, you know, descriptions of owners,” Napieralski said.
Napieralski added if a person is hurt because of an unleashed dog attack, they should call 911, but in the case of a hurt animal or threat to attack, they should call ALE.
“Give us a call here at Animal Law Enforcement and we will send an officer out to help,” Napieralski said.
We also reached out to local city leaders for comment on the concerns, but city council was in session for over five hours on Tuesday. FOX21 News was not able to talk to a councilmember in an on-camera interview before deadline.
However, Councilmember Dave Donelson did respond to FOX21 News’s request for comment via email. In response, he said he has not heard many complaints about unleashed dogs but added “I do believe it is a concern of many citizens because of the potential of fights between leashed and unleashed dogs, impact on wildlife, and fear of being bitten by an unleashed dog.”
