ROCK FALLS, Illinois -- An ordinance adopted by Whiteside County requires pet owners to bring their dogs inside during certain instances of extreme weather.
As of June 1st, 2018 "no dogs may be left outdoors in the case of extreme weather conditions, including when a heat advisory, a wind chill warning, thunderstorm warning, or tornado warning has been issued by local, state, or national authority." Citizens were given a few weeks of leeway to get used to the new law, but as of Thursday, July 12, three citations had been written for violations of the ordinance.
Getting this ordinance through took some effort of Mark Razo, the president of Happy Tails Humane Society. He said when it comes to pet care, no changes had been made within the county since the 1970s. He said it's something that people within the county were wanting to implement.
In addition to the requirement to bring pets indoors, two other items were added to address breeding regulations and hoarding. Click here to see the full document on the county's animal ordinances.
Razo said the new ordinances have made a path for these ordinances to be enforced.
