Keep your pet under control or lose your right to have them; that's the message Lincoln County lawmakers are sending to dog owners.

The fiscal court passed a new, strict dog ordinance on Tuesday morning.

"If you wanna own a dog you need to be responsible and take care of that dog," said Darryl Day, the Commonwealth's Attorney in Lincoln County.

Day says the new dog ordinance will put the muzzle on dogs that become a public nuisance. That includes K-9's that habitually bark, bite or roam into neighbors' yards, destroying property.

Those pups can be picked up and impounded at anytime by the dog warden.

Joyce Johnson says her neighbor's aggressive dogs scare her and her grandkids

"I worry about those dogs. You never know when one of them could attack them," she said. She also says she's afraid to leave her own yard.

"People like to get out in their subdivisions and walk and children get out and play and they can't do that for the dogs," Johnson said.

She wants the law to be stricter.

Others say just the opposite, especially since under certain circumstances, your dogs can be taken, given away to others, or even euthanized. But legislators say they know they can't make everyone happy. They just want to keep people safe.

Lincoln County leaders say they saw the need for the new dog ordinance because there were several dog laws that needed to be consolidated, or updated, to meet the safety needs of people who live there.