Breckenridge officials are looking into ways to increase education around how owners should control their dogs on trails after a season that brought numerous complaints.

Breckenridge Open Space and Trails staff, the Breckenridge Police Department and Summit County Animal Control all reported an increase in public complaints for failure to control dogs this summer. Summit County Animal Control saw a 22% increase year over year in animal service calls for areas in unincorporated Summit County as of Aug. 31.

Victims of dog attacks have come forward about their experience and a lack of accountability on behalf of the dog owners. Alicia Vargo spoke to the Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission at a Sept. 16 meeting about how charges she pressed against a dog owner were recently dropped. 

Vargo, a former collegiate athlete and seasoned trail-runner, was left with two fractured vertebrae, soft tissue damage and other injuries following a collision with an off-leash dog who charged at her near Breckenridge this June.

She said the experience left her with daily chronic pain and has ultimately cost her thousands of dollars in canceled travel arrangements and ongoing medical bills. 

Vargo, a self-proclaimed dog lover, described the situation as “totally preventable, totally negligent.”

“It would be really good to be out on the trails recreating, and, one, feel more protected, but also feel more protected if something happens,” she said. 

Animal control and shelter director JJ McGill spoke to the Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Commission Sept. 16 about what her organization has seen this summer and how they handle negative dog encounters. She said while off-leash incidents remain the primary problems, they have had plenty of on-leash incidents reported to them as well. 

Summit County law currently mandates dogs to be under immediate control, meaning the dog has to be within 10-feet and under voice control. Dogs not under voice control must be on a leash that is no longer than 6 feet in length. 

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<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pictured is the Sawmill Reservoir, whose trailhead is in town limits. Depending on the location of the incident, Summit County Sheriff’s Office or the Breckenridge Police Department respond to dog incident calls and are each able to issue warnings, citations and court summons for cases where treatment may be needed for sustained injuries. Summit County Animal Control works in conjunction with both.</figcaption><figcaption>Breckenridge Open Space and Trails/Courtesy photo</figcaption>

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McGill said animal control doesn’t have the staff currently to be proactive in these situations, so they have had to be reactive. 

“If we had more animal control officers, then we could be proactive by walking bike paths, walking busy trails, issuing failure to control citations of what we see on the trails,” she said.

She added animal control officers have upped surveillance recently through body cameras and dash cameras.

McGill attributes an increase of incidents to a trend that emerged following the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to pandemic lockdowns, many new dog owners were unable to get the training or necessary socialization for their pets, she said. This has led to more reported behavioral issues in dogs and has actually led to an increased number of pet surrenders. 

Community director Mark Truckey asked about the processes behind these conflicts and accountability. McGill said animal control has a three-offense system. The first offense involves a fine, the second involves a heftier fine and the third offense is generally a mandatory summons. She said there have been a couple of cases this summer that were bad enough to mandate euthanasia of the dog. 

Open Space Commissioners wondered about the rate of identification for owners whose dogs harmed people. McGill said they have had a pretty high identification rate because most times people get the owner’s information. She said the offenders have largely been instate visitors, locals and people from neighboring communities using the trails. 

Open Space and Trails Specialist Tony Overlock wondered how many of these incidents could have been prevented.

McGill responded that while unpreventable situations exist, many could have been avoided if owners “had a little bit more training with their dog or training themselves.”

“I would say overall, the public is not as educated about animals as I would hope that they would be, and oftentimes they put their dogs in positions or places that they weren’t set up well to succeed,” she said. 

Commissioner Bobbie Zanca said she felt like preparation and training were paramount, especially where people with dogs might not take time to read trail signage to understand rules and regulations. 

Other commissioners shared a similar sentiment, asking McGill what avenues were best to take to increase education around the matter. 

McGill said social media outreach was probably the best bet. 

The city of Boulder’s hefty dog training requirements came up in conversation, yet it was determined that wasn’t feasible for Summit County.

Open Space and Trails staff members said they have already begun discussions with Merje Design, a vendor the town is using to update trail signage, about what type of signage could help mitigate this problems. According to staffers, Merje team members said signage with red text is most effective in capturing people’s attention. Commissioners said outlining the repercussions of an owner’s dog causing a negative incident could also be impactful to have on the signing.

Zanca said she would like to see increased education around both how dogs should be handled and what to do if you are someone that needs to report a negative encounter with a dog.

Commissioners directed staff members to continue working with Merje on signage and work on public messaging around the matter via social media channels.