According to the sign below, a local Weber County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and one of my nearby neighbors, a dog owned by said neighbor was shot and killed “on Nordic Valley Drive [sic]” on 10/12/22.   

After I returned home from a business trip in Provo, Utah (from 10/10/22 through 10/13/22), the owner of the dead dog came to my home on 10/14/22 or 10/15/22 to talk to me about the death of his dog.  He told me that he found his dead dog northwest of my house on the west side of Nordic Valley Road (not “drive” as his sign states), which is about 100 yards from his home.  I asked him during our discussion, Why wasn’t your dog on a leash or inside a fenced yard? 

Several weeks before the sad 10/12/22 event above, two unleashed dogs attacked one of my family’s chicken coops.  I spoke to the owner of the dogs as he was pulling them away from my coop.  He apologized and assured me he would never again walk his dogs past my home.  He lied.  Since then he and his unleashed dogs have walked past my home several times.  One of those times, my two oldest children had to yell at the unleashed dogs which, again, were running on my property toward my chickens. 

Contra what they might claim, both men in this short story hate their dogs.  Both men are like parents who hate their children by failing to take care of and provide for their children and then wonder why their children end up hurt physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.  Both men and others like them may claim to love their dogs until they’re blue in the face but they are deluded and self-deceived.  Talk is cheap.  If dog owners really love their dogs, they will do that which helps preserve their lives.  When dog owners walk their dogs in a neighborhood, like the many neighborhoods in Ogden Valley, they must leash them.  No exceptions!  Why leash them?  Because dogs are dogs.  (Pardon the tautology.)  Dogs, by nature, will roam wide and sometimes attack that which they think would be a tasty meal or would make a nice play toy.  In Nordic Valley, as well as the rest of the valley, many people live.  Many residents of these neighborhoods own livestock.  Many residents have children.  Some residents are allergic to dogs.  Some residents have been mauled by dogs.  Some residents have friends or family members who have been mauled by dogs.  Some residents, hold on to your hat, simply don’t like dogs. 

Like it or not, in Weber County, Utah, dog owners are required by law to leash their dogs when their dogs walk in a public place.  Read §6-4-5 of the Weber County Code.  All of it is immediately below.  The Internet URL is https://weber.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=ordinances#name=Sec_6-4-5_Restraining_Animals_And_Leash_Law.

“It is unlawful for any person owning or having the custody, possession, or control of any animal to, either negligently or with specific intent, improperly restrain or fence the animal in a manner that allows the animal to escape or to run at-large. Dogs are to be restrained on a proper leash at all times on the public right-of-way and in public places [emphasis mine].”

I recently spoke to a Weber County animal control officer who confirmed the perspicuous language of this part of the code.  A dog owner who breaks this ordinance is warned after his/her first offense.  A dog owner who breaks this ordinance again is then fined.  She advised me to video dogs and their owners who flout the ordinance so that an animal control officer can identify and confront derelict dog owners.  Note that walking right behind your unleashed dog is still a violation of the county ordinance.  Weber County residents who observe derelict dog owners breaking the ordinance should call the Weber County non-emergency dispatch phone line at 801-395-8221.  The Internet URL of the Weber County office is www.webercountyutah.gov/Animal_Shelter/contact.php.

While writing this letter, I read an informative article titled “Using Deadly Force Against Animals” on the Internet at https://utahcarrylaws.com/using-deadly-force-against-animals/.  He quotes §18-1-3 of the Utah Code, which is available on the Internet at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title18/Chapter1/18-1-S3.html.  All of it is immediately below.  Note this law has been in effect in Utah for many years. 

Dogs attacking domestic animals, service animals, hoofed protected wildlife, or domestic fowls.

         Any person may injure or kill a dog while:

(1)        the dog is attacking, chasing, or worrying:

(a)          a domestic animal having a commercial value;

(b)          a service animal, as defined in Section 62A-5b-102; or

(c)          any species of hoofed protected wildlife;

(2)        the dog is attacking domestic fowls; or

(3)        the dog is being pursued for committing an act described in Subsection (1) or (2).

Let’s reread this.  Like it or not, in the State of Utah, any Ogden Valley neighbor may kill the dog of another Ogden Valley neighbor if “the dog is attacking, chasing, or worrying a domestic animal having a commercial value; a service animal, as defined in Section 62A-5b-102; or any species of hoofed protected wildlife;” or if “the dog is attacking domestic fowls.”  The article author writes, “These laws should put all dog owners on notice as well.  To allow your dog to freely roam the neighborhood is to subject your dog to an incredible amount of risk and could potentially result in the death of your dog.  In addition, you will be held liable and could result in being sued.” 

In conclusion dog owners who let their unleashed dogs wander through the Ogden Valley are unloving criminals.  Why someone shot Zoey the dog may never be known by others.  The person responsible for the dog’s death, however, is clear—the derelict owner.  He failed to take care of (love) his animal.  In effect he killed his own dog and he can blame no one but himself.  He and other dog owners like him need to grow up and start taking the ownership of their dogs seriously; acknowledge that they live in a neighborhood and that the world does not revolve around them and their dogs; and obey the aforementioned Weber County ordinance.