While there are no restrictions to prohibit owning a dog, there are certain responsibilities every dog owner has. Certainly one is to be sure that there is no incessant loud barking to disturb the neighborhood. Another is to always pick up the dog wastes and properly dispose of them in the trash. While there are other responsibilities, these two are the subject of regulation in almost every county and HOA. Pima County and SMVE HOA are no exceptions!
Many of us enjoy “saying hello” to the dogs being walked (as well as their owners) but none of us likes stepping in their wastes during an evening walk or over them during a day walk! Likewise no one likes to have to pick the dog waste of others pets from their front yards. If you are a dog owner, just as you don’t forget to take the dog on your walks, please don’t forget to take one or more baggies and pick up any wastes they dispose of during the walk. Your neighbors will all appreciate that.
SMVE CC&Rs, Article XIII Section 16:
When domestic pets, which are allowed to be kept on the Properties, are taken out of an Owner’s Lot, the domestic pet(s) shall be on a leash and the Owner shall be required to pick up immediately any animal feces left on any other Owner’s Lot or on the Common Area. Ten ($10) dollars for each occurrence Twenty five ($25) for each repeat occurrence.
(Pima County Code, Section 6.04.030):
Pet solid waste is to be removed immediately by the pet owner. It notes that it is unlawful for the owner or the person with custody of the dog to fail “immediately” to “remove and dispose of in a sanitary manner” any dog poop deposited on public property or on private property without the consent of the property owner. A person who commits such a violation is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, for which the penalties may include a fine of between $100 and $500; up to 30 days in jail; and/or one year probation. (This section does not apply to blind persons or persons with mobility disabilities.)