Registration Will Be Required For Dogs In Town

By David Howell

Editor

WATER VALLEY – Starting in March, an ordinance requiring all dogs in the City of Water Valley to be registered with the city will be enforced. 

The decision by aldermen came at the Dec. 4 city board meeting after Street Department Superintendent Mike Scroggins, who also serves as the animal control officer, reminded city officials that there is an old ordinance in the city requiring registration for dogs in town. 

“It’s an ordinance that any dog in the City of Water Valley is supposed to be registered with the city. They are supposed to have a tag, but nothing has been done in years,” Scoggins explained. “We have so many (loose dogs) and I would like to see it enforced.”

“We do have the ordinance,” Mayor Donald Gray agreed.

Scroggins also explained that a few people in Water Valley are already complying with the ordinance.

“Some of them have been coming in, but we need to make it city-wide. The registration is supposed to be done every January. Then we would know whose dog is what,” Scoggins explained.

“Do we have a way to make tags?” Alderman Kagan Coughlin asked.

“We can have them in about two weeks,” City Clerk Vivian Snider anwered.

“I would suggest that y’all run it in the paper… give everybody a grace period to remind them, and then in March this will go into full effect,” City Attorney Daniel Martin recommended.

“Just run a reminder that says we have an ordinance and it says your dog must be registered,” Gray agreed, adding that the notice will include the fee for registration and the penalties for not complying with the ordinance. 

Following the discussion, Coughlin made a motion in favor of publicizing and enforcing the ordinance and Alderperson Nicole Folson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.