Created: 7/29/2009 5:56:35 PM 
ATLANTIC BEACH, FL -- Two Jacksonville teens were arrested Monday for refusing to cooperate with Animal Control after their dogs were running unleashed on the beach.
When 19-year-olds Whitney Lee and Paola Martin took their dogs from their westside home to Atlantic Beach Monday, police say the dogs weren't on leashes, and police say the teens refused to accept they were breaking city ordinances when stopped by Animal Control.
"One refused to give any information to the Animal Control Officer when she tried to write them a citation," said Atlantic Beach Police Chief Michael Classey.
"The second (young woman) actually gave a false name." he said.
Police say the women then picked up their belongings and ran off the beach at the 18th Street sand dune crossover, fleeing from the Animal Control Officer's truck.
But they couldn't outrun the police radio.
Two officers in cruisers were in the parking lot a few hundred yards away, waiting to arrest them for resisting.
"When the police officer made contact with them, they were uncooperative with him as well. And he elected to arrest them both for resisting an Animal Control Officer, which is a violation of our municipal ordinances," said Classey.
While Jacksonville Beach and neighboring Neptune Beach prohibit dogs altogether between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Atlantic Beach is open to dogs 24-hours a day.
"In Atlantic Beach, we allow dogs on the beach at all times. The main restriction is that they have to be on the leash at all times," said Chief Classey, adding that if the dog and its owner are both in the ocean, the dog can then be off the leash.
When Dog owner Katie Gladney takes 'Charley' down to the beach, she knows he has to be on a leash. And she remembers the time Charley was attacked by another dog that was running free.
"And the owner wasn't in control. He had two dogs and he only had one hand so it was like a scary situation!" she remembered.
Which is why animal control regularly patrols the shoreline: To make sure dog owners obey the law for everyone's safety.
And for Martin and Lee, what would have been a $30 citation turned into a trip to jail on misdemeanor charges.
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