ANIMAN CONTROL SWEEP
FORT WORTH - On the heels of the dog mauling that killed a three-year-old girl, Fort Worth animal control officers are enforcing a zero tolerance policy for any dog violations.
In the case of three-year-old Brooklynn Milburn's death, the dog owner was not cited for any wrongdoing and was in full compliance with all city animal ordinances. However, authorities said hundreds of other dogs owners in Fort Worth were discovered not to be in compliance.
Authorities found a large number of offenders during a weekend sweep of an east Fort Worth neighborhood. In just four days, officers identified about 800 violations.
Brandon Bennett, the director of Code Compliance in Fort Worth, said an alarming number of pit bulls were found roaming the streets around the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood.
"It's one of the areas that has the highest concentration of stray dogs in the city," he said.
In 2008, animal control officers picked up more than 13,000 stray dogs in Fort Worth. Located in district five, the Polytechnic neighborhood had more than 1,800 stray dogs, which was the second highest number out of the districts. With more than 2,400 stray dogs picked up, district two on the north side of the city came in at number one.
"We have dogs that have a propensity to attack that are running loose in the neighborhood," Bennett said.
Since 2004, the number of pit bull bites has tripled in Fort Worth. However, animal control hasn't focused its efforts on one particular breed. All pets must be registered in Fort Worth at a cost of $7 per pet. Fines for pets found unregistered or tethered can be as high as to $2,000.
Code officers say they plan to hit every Fort Worth neighborhood within the next 90 days, and will continue to go door-to-door checking for animal violations.
