Rolling Meadows to fine owners of dangerous dogs

Two incidents last summer convinced Rolling Meadows Police Chief Steve Williams that owners of dangerous dogs should be held accountable.

Or in police terms, fined.

"One man would let his dogs roam the neighborhood during the day while he was at work," Williams said. "They'd go right out the doggy door. The neighbors were terrified."

The other incident was when a woman had to be rushed to the emergency room after she was attacked by a dog. The same dog later attacked a police officer's dog, Williams said.

To help control dogs like these, the Rolling Meadows Police Department wanted to add penalties for "dangerous or vicious dogs."

The city council recently approved the ordinance change to include fines.

The fines run from $100 to $1,000, depending on the number of offenses. Dogs considered vicious and fined three times will be confiscated by the police department, Williams said.

Before this, the city didn't fine owners of dangerous dogs, Williams said.

For example, the man who let his dogs roam the neighborhood was given about 20 tickets -- but only for having a stray dog, Williams said.

Those tickets are $25 each.

A dangerous dog is one that poses an immediate threat to a person or another dog. The owner of a dangerous dog will be fined $100 for the first offense and $250 for the second offense.

A vicious dog is one that attacks another person or dog, causing serious injury or death. The owner of a vicious dog will be fined $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for the second offense. Police will confiscate the dog on the third offense.

The money the police departments collect from the fines will go back in the city's general fund, Williams said.

Penalties for stray dogs are $20 to $250, depending on the number of offenses.

All dogs in Rolling Meadows must be on a leash when they're on public property, including in parks.