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This post was updated on 10/23/26 to include information about existing apartment renters with pit bulls.
By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
Arkadelphia city directors have formalized additional regulations when it comes to dogs in the city limits.
At a Tuesday, Oct. 20, meeting of the Arkadelphia Board of Directors, Police Chief Jason “Shorty” Jackson addressed a pair of ordinances — one related to seizing vicious dogs, and the other related to pit bulls.
The proposed amendments come on the heels of a recommendation by city prosecutor Phillip McCorkle.
The first gives police the authority to seize any dog responsible for an attack, whether it be a laceration that requires stitches, disfigurement, or worse. A court order was required to seize a dog prior to the amendment, Jackson said.
The second ordinance amendment deals with the pit bull breed. Passed unanimously, the revised ordinance makes it unlawful to house a pit bull in a multi-family dwelling, such as an apartment complex. Jackson said even the city’s “chicken ordinance” spells out that apartment dwellers may not own poultry, but, until the revision, pit bulls were allowed. Asked by Mayor Scott Byrd if any particular incident prompted the proposed amendment, the police chief replied there was an attack earlier this year when a pit bull made light work of a storm door at an apartment and made its attack.
Asked how to tell a pit bull apart from other breeds, Jackson said the general rule of thumb is to rely on proud owners: “If the owner says it’s a pit, then it’s a pit,” he said.
Asked later whether apartment-dwelling residents with pit bulls would be grandfathered in, Jackson told The Arkadelphian that there were only 8 pit bulls registered in the city limits, and none of them were in apartments. If there are pits registered in apartments, their owners would be grandfathered in so long as they continue living at the current, registered address. Jackson went on to say that the amended ordinance will be enforced as the police department receives complaints or encounters issue. “We aren’t actively seeking out violations,” he said.
Jackson went on to provide several statistics about dog attacks in Arkadelphia, reporting that so far in 2026 the department has responded to 16 incidents, 11 of which involved injury, and has written 6 citations, two of which were pit bull violations.
The amended ordinances were passed with an emergency clause, putting them into effect immediately.
In other business, directors:
• Heard City Manager Gary Brinkley report that the city’s most recent audit returned clear.
• OK’d the purchase of a $43,997 fuel distribution system to replace the old one at the street department. All city vehicles use the fuel pumps, which reportedly had recent equipment issues. There was discussion among directors about potentially using Hendry Oil Company for fueling city vehicles, but it was determined that the current location was more convenient.
• Heard the first reading of an ordinance to adopt the Momentum 2045 Arkadelphia Comprehensive Plan. The ordinance moves to its second of three readings at the next board meeting.
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