Bernalillo County commissioners have approved an ordinance aimed at limiting the confinement of dogs and making sure lost pets can be identified.
County residents no longer can keep their dogs on a "cable trolley" and must get a microchip implant for their dogs and cats. The changes recently approved by commissioners go into effect within six months.
Matt Pepper of the Bernalillo County Animal Care Services says animal control officers actively will be enforcing the ordinance.
Dog owners who want to use a trolley system that tethers dogs to a cable attached to two fixed points can get a waiver. But Pepper says they'll have to justify the tethering method.
Pepper estimates that a microchip implant will cost between $40 and $60.
___
Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.