El Paso county Sheriff Richard Wiles wants county commissioners to give him new powers to crack down on stray animals in the area.

The Sheriff's Office is set to make a presentation to the county commissioner's court at the end of the month, asking for changes to the current animal control policy. The proposed changes would require all dogs in the county to be microchipped and registered. Dogs would have to be on a leash if they are off their owner's property.

Right now under state law, deputies can only round up stray dogs as a preventive way to cut down on rabies. But if a dog is found to be in violation of one of the proposed changes, the owner could be cited and fined or, in certain cases, even have the pet taken away.

"If that animal attacks someone's property or a person or if it is unrestrained, we can hold them accountable for those actions," Wiles said.

Wiles says he won't need any additional manpower, but the city of El Paso's animal shelter, which houses the animals, said it might have to reorganize space if there is a big increase in admissions.

Currently, there are three animal control officers working for the county. They take the strays that they find to the city's animal shelter, because the Sheriff's Office doesn't have its own facility.

Fines for violating the proposed animal ordinance changes haven't been determined yet. They are still in the planning stages. Any changes to animal ordinance, however, must be voted on by the county commission before it can go into effect.