Within the city limits of Foley pet owners will now face fines if they fail to clean up after their pets.

The Foley City Council passed the ordinance at its final meeting in December and the ordinance went into effect this past weekend. The ordinance was brought up earlier in 2010 when Foley implemented a new vicious animal ordinance, but cleaning up after pets was not included in that earlier ordinance.

While the ordinance regulating vicious dogs was going through the council earlier this year residents approached, the council asking them to do something about pet waste. According to the council, the ordinance, which went into effect this weekend, is the response to those resident’s requests.

Foley Police Chief David Wilson presented the new ordinance to the council on Dec. 6. The ordinance, according to Wilson, is similar to ordinances other municipalities have in place.

“A lot of cities have done to this. We did it in Daphne when I was there. I would venture to say that there are more cities than not that have went to an ordinance like this or will be in the future just because it is a real nuisance to homeowners for other people walking through your neighborhood to just allow dogs to run amok like that.” said Wilson. “You need to be a responsible pet owner and control what your pet does, whether it is loud barking in the middle of the night and just holding animal owners responsible for their animals.

According to the ordinance, “The City of Foley has found and determined that animal waste is unsanitary, a nuisance, and detrimental to the health, safety, and general welfare of the community.”

The ordinance requires if any dog leaves waste on public property or on someone else’s property it is the responsibility of the owner to immediately remove the waste. If the waste is not removed, the ordinance allows the police department to issue a citation, which will require the pet owner to appear in court. The first offense could carry a $25 fine, and additional fines of up to $100 for any offenses after the second offense.

The ordinance, according to Wilson, is simple, but necessary.

“If your dog drops it, pick it up,” said Wilson.

The ordinance gives the police department a way to deal with the nuisance caused by pets who are allowed to run amok.

“Basically it gives us some legal leverage to enforce problem areas like that,” Wilson said. “When we get called on someone who is carelessly walking their animal and just letting them do their business just anywhere they want to. A lot of people are very sensitive about the upkeep of their yards and their homes and such.”

Wilson also said the police department gets calls about messes left by others walking their pets and before this ordinance went into effect the police department could not do much about the issue.

 “It is not a huge problem but it was enough that we needed something on the books. We needed something on the books to help us when we do get those calls,” Wilson said.