Lubbock City Council spent another evening discovering that stray, dangerous dogs don’t fix themselves. Councilwoman Christy Martinez-Garcia pitched updates to the city’s ordinance: match state law on what counts as a “dangerous dog,” extend compliance to 30 days, skip the hearing, make appeals go through municipal court, and—if owners ignore it—hand the dog over to Animal Services. Oh, and jack up liability insurance from $250K to $1M and the annual dangerous-dog permit to $200. Seems bold, or at least expensive.
Then came the “please don’t make us enforce this” portion. The plan adds multi-pet permits for homes with more than four animals and a breeder permit for folks keeping animals intact to reproduce—both with inspections by Lubbock Animal Services. Council members quickly remembered LAS is already understaffed and overworked. Councilman David Glasheen called it government overreach with a side of nanny-state, while Dr. Jennifer Wilson worried about the logistics of inspecting potentially thousands of homes. Martinez-Garcia said, basically, do something already. The council did something: they postponed it to November 5. Classic.
There’s also a small carrot hidden in the kennel: get your impounded dog fixed within 30 days and you can get $105 of reclaim fees back. So yes, we’ll refund you for solving part of the problem we can’t staff people to check on. Innovation!
Meanwhile, the streets remain a choose-your-own-adventure between off-leash “outdoor enthusiasts” and residents who’d prefer to keep their calves attached. City Hall is split between “act now,” “not like this,” and “with what staff?” Lubbock: where the dogs run free and the can gets kicked—again.
Are we trying to leash the dogs or the government—because right now, it looks like neither.
