St. Mary Parish unanimously decided to pass an ordinance regulating the ownership of pit bulls.

The ordinance was proposed to address a growing problem in the parish.
Last year, one-third of all the dog complaints in St. Mary Parish were pit bull complaints. Council members are trying to take precautions so that no one gets hurt.

Dog owners in unincorporated areas in the parish will have to follow a number of rules. Dogs will have to be living at the same physical address as their owners, they must be micro chipped and owners will need to display a Beware-of-Dog sign in their yard. These are just a few of the new regulations.

Council members say they have put these rules into place for safety reasons. The author of the ordinance says that it is about taking control of the problem at hand.

The author of the ordinance, Glen Hidalgo, said "Not everyone is a responsible dog owner and that's what it's about. More than the dogs, it's more about the people who own the dogs."

The ordinance will go into effect starting July 1 dog owners need to make sure they are prepared to follow the new rules.

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