The Highland Park Neighborhood Association and residents of Falcon Hills have taken the necessary steps to be part of El Paso County’s animal control jurisdiction.In late April, Fran St. Germain, county administration manager, mailed questionnaires asking if residents were in favor of implementing county animal control laws. Residents were advised that inclusion in the county’s animal control area will not increase property taxes.St. Germain said if more than half of the returned surveys for each subdivision are in favor of inclusion, the county will hold a hearing.”If the county decides to include a subdivision, the inclusion will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2008,” St. Germain said. At that time, the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, with which the county contracts for animal control services, will be authorized to respond to calls from residents in the included subdivision, St. Germain said. Presently, the sheriff’s department handles animal control calls for all of the Falcon area.Land under the county’s animal control area is governed by the Pet Animal Control/Dog Licensing Rules and Regulations, which requires dog owners to license their pets. License applications must be accompanied by an anti-rabies vaccine certificate issued within the past three years. The cost of a license is based on whether the dog has been spayed or neutered and the length of the license term. Dog owners can get a 1-year or 3-year license.The application for an altered dog must include a certificate signed by a veterinarian.Licenses are not required for guide dogs used by the blind, partially blind, deaf or partially deaf.Cat owners are not required to license their pets, but if they wish to do so, they must present a valid anti-rabies vaccine certificate. The license fee for a cat is $5 for one year.The regulations also require dog owners to constrain their dogs by keeping them behind a fence, in a pen or cage or on leashes no longer than 15 feet.Vicious dogs are not allowed in the county’s animal control area. According to the regulations, it is “unlawful to own, possess, harbor, keep, have a financial or property interest in, or have custody or control of a dangerous dog in El Paso County. Peace officers shall have a duty to impound dogs that present danger to the public health or safety.”And the same is applied to dogs that present as a nuisance. “It shall be unlawful for any person to own or keep a pet animal, which, by any unreasonably loud and persistent barking, howling, baying, yelping, crowing, crying or other utterance, disturbs the peace and quiet of a neighborhood.”For the full text of the Pet Animal Control/Dog Licensing Rules and Regulations, see http://adm.elpasoco.com/NR/rdonlyres/BDD98CE6-F796-467F-B38B-180BB7E47A9A/0/Res06287AnimalPetControl.pdf.Fine schedule for animal regulation violations:
| Violation | First offense | Second offense | Third offense | Fourth offense or greater |
| License required | $45 | $75 | $100 | $100 |
| Inoculation required | $45 | $75 | $100 | $100 |
| Dog control | $45 | $75 | $100 | $100 |
| Dangerous dog | $75 | $100 | $150 | $150 |
| Noisy pet | $45 | $75 | $100 | $100 |
Other offenses not resulting in bodily injury to any person or other animal are $25 per offense.
License fees| License type | El Paso County | Senior citizens |
| Altered 1 year | $12.00 | $8.00 |
| Altered 3 year | $33.00 | $25.00 |
| Unaltered 1 year | $25.00 | $18.00 |
| Unaltered 3 year | $65.00 | $52.00 |
