Photo courtesy of village of Laurium In March, Laurium Village posted photos of a loose dog found in the village. The owner was located and was reunited with the pet.

LAURIUM – The Village Council held a public hearing Tuesday regarding amending the current pet ordinance, which has been in affect since 1991. That ordinance, named No. 120 Dog Ordinance, is now Ordinance 2026-01, Animal Regulatory Ordinance. “This is not a new ordinance,” Village Manager Ian Lewis said. “It’s just updating it to include more than just dogs.”

Lewis began drafting the new ordinance last fall and submitted to the council for review in March. It was approved by the council in April. “This ordinance pertains to dogs, cats, and other animals that are covered under the term ‘animal’ in the ordinance.”

The council has heard from numerous residents in the past year and a half on amending the ordinance, Lewis said.

During the hearing, one commenter told the Council she has captured the same two loose dogs on her security cameras at her home on Florida Street at night, and asked if residents with complaints should report to the police. Lewis said the police already do capture loose dogs, but the current ordinance lacks enforcement policies. Other comments discussed the number of people who walk their dogs and do not clean up after them.

“The current ordinance has no teeth to it,” Lewis said. “This one will have teeth for going after infractions.” For example, the amended ordinance now allows for fines ranging between $100 and $500, and up to 90 days in jail or a specified number of hours of public service, depending on the severity of the infraction, and the number of times the pet owner violates the ordinance.

“However, this new ordinance, as drafted, basically puts it on the owner to contain animals to their yards and if they don’t do that, they can be cited with a municipal infraction, and any and other action that the state allows.”

The village’s social media page typically publishes posts regarding animals. For example, in March, a post was published about a loose dog, which included photographs of the animal. “If an owner is not found by 8 p.m., the Laurium PD will contact the Humane Society.”

Again on April 10, the Village posted a dog spotted on Pewabic Street, but had not been caught yet. The amendments to the ordinance will allow for legal action against owners. “If this ordinance is approved, there will be more teeth for going after infractions.”

Regulating cats and their owners poses more of a challenge, Lewis said, because there is a large number of feral cats in the village.

“But there are also some cats who people know exactly who owns them,” he said, citing particular cats on Iroquois Street. “Lots of people know who those cats belong to.”

Village President John Sullivan said that has been a recurring complaint that led to amending the ordinance. “It covered dogs, but not cats or feral cats out roaming out roaming the neighborhood.”