Reacting to a spate of dog attacks several years ago, the Napa City Council adopted new regulations Tuesday for dealing with dangerous and vicious animals.

The new rules should speed up enforcement of animal control laws, with greater fines for owners and reduced animal stays at the county shelter for pets, officials said.

Council members agreed with a community task force which said the ordinance should target alarming behaviors, not specific breeds. State law allows cities to control specific breeds such as pit bulls, but this approach was rejected.

Councilman Mark van Gorder, who served on the task force, said it made sense to focus enforcement on owners. “It puts the accountability on the owner, not just the animal,” he said.

Napa County adopted the same rules in November. County animal control officers will be enforcing the same animal standards in both the city and the county.

Officers now have more authority to find that a dog is potentially dangerous or vicious and impose corrective actions to protect the public. Owners can appeal to a hearing board.

A “potentially dangerous” dog is one that has engaged in unprovoked, aggressive conduct. A “vicious” dog has caused unprovoked injury or death to a human or domestic animal.

If a dog is found to be dangerous, the owner will have to agree to having an identifying microchip inserted in the animal, obtain professional training for the animal, reimburse medical expenses and property damage and install graphic warning signs where the animal lives.

The additional requirements for vicious animals include expert behavioral testing, construction of an approved safety enclosure, required use of an approved leash, collar and muzzle, spaying or neutering, proof of liability insurance and a prohibition on the dog living minor children.

In extreme cases, the hearing panel would decide if the animal must be destroyed.

Mayor Jill Techel noted the Council Chambers were packed several years ago when the council first talked about tougher animal control laws. One person was present Tuesday when the ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.

A rash of dog attacks in Napa and the Bay Area, including an incident involving a local postal worker, triggered the local review. Since then, there have been no headline-grabbing incidents locally, van Gorder noted.

For a first violation, the owner of a dangerous dog will be fined $50. The fine grows to $500 for the fourth and subsequent violations.

Vicious dog owners will be fined $100 for a first violation and $1,000 for the fourth and subsequent violations.

Incidents involving dangerous or vicious dogs are relatively few, said David Jones, the deputy city attorney. He could recall just three cases over the past six years.