5 Reasons to Secure your Dog When Police Arrive -

The San Diego Police Department recommends:

1. Should you be contacted by law enforcement at your home, secure your dog in a location to prevent its escape and avoid distractions.

Officers are trained to render a scene safe. This includes ensuring no pets or animals pose a threat to the public or to officers.

2. Place signage on the front exterior facing of your home or yard alerting law enforcement and all visitors of the presence of a dog.

Officers are trained to look for visual cues in assessing the safety of any situation and signage is helpful in that regard.

3. Communicate with law enforcement personnel about the presence of a dog and where in the home or yard the dog is located.

Information is vital to any response involving law enforcement. The more information you provide officers the better equipped the officers are to resolve the situation safely.

4. Communicate with law enforcement the specific actions you are taking to secure your dog.

This will indicate to the officers that your actions are related to the securing of your dog and not a threat to their safety.

5. Follow all instructions provided to you by law enforcement personnel.

Officers are trained to respond to situations that may indicate a threat to their safety or the safety of our community. Complying with instructions given by law enforcement personnel reduces the perception of a threat.

Source: Officer Holland Tafoya, Community Liaison Officer, SDPD Northern, HTafoya@pd.sandiego.gov; as presented at UCCA’s July meeting and published on Nextdoor.

What do Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, ImproveUC and UCCA have in common? They are all ways neighbors can connect with neighbors and the University City community. Create a post, start a conversation, share the news, organize an event, keep in touch, take a look: