The purpose of this article is to preserve the public peace and good order in the Town and to contribute to the public welfare, safety and good order of its people by establishing certain regulations and restrictions on the activities of dogs, including the licenses thereof, that are consistent with the rights and privileges of other residents of the Town.
An Animal Control Officer may be appointed or designated by the Town to enforce this article who shall have all the powers and duties contained in § 114 of the Agriculture and Markets Law.
A. 
The owner of any dog reaching the age of four months shall immediately make application for a dog license.
B. 
No license shall be required for any dog which is under the age of four months and which is not at large.
C. 
Any dog that resides in the Town for 30 days or more and is more than four months of age shall be licensed.
D. 
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a license shall be issued or renewed for a period of at least one year, two years, or three years, at the option of the owner, provided, that no license shall be issued for a period expiring after the last day of the 11th month following the expiration date of the current rabies certificate for the dog being licensed.
E. 
All licenses shall expire on the last day of the last month of the period for which they are issued. In the event an applicant for a license presents, in lieu of a rabies certificate, a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian, as provided in Subsection H of this section, a license shall be issued or renewed for a period not to exceed one year from the date of said statement.
F. 
Application for a dog license shall be made to the Clerk of the Town.
G. 
The application shall state the gender, actual or approximate age, breed, color, and municipal identification number of the dog, and other identification marks, if any, and the name, address, telephone number, county and town or village of residence of the owner and updated rabies manufacturer, lot / serial number and expiration date. The Town may require additional information on the license if deemed appropriate by the Town Clerk.
H. 
The application shall be accompanied by the license fee prescribed by § 77-12 of this article. The Clerk, at the time of issuing any license pursuant to this article, shall require the applicant to present a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian showing that the dog or dogs have been vaccinated to prevent rabies or, in lieu thereof, a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian stating that because of old age or another reason, the life of the dog or dogs would be endangered by the administration of vaccine. The Clerk shall make or cause to be made from such statement a record of such information. Such records shall be made available to the state or County of Onondaga upon request for rabies and other animal disease control efforts.
I. 
In the case of a spayed or neutered dog, every application shall also be accompanied by a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian or an affidavit signed by the owner, showing that the dog has been spayed or neutered, provided such certificate or affidavit shall not be required if the same is already on file with the Clerk or authorized dog control officer. In lieu of the spay or neuter certificate, an owner may present a statement certified by a licensed veterinarian stating that he has examined the dog and found that because of old age or other reason, the life of the dog would be endangered by spaying or neutering. In such case, the license fee for the dog shall be the same as for a spayed or neutered dog as set forth in Subsection A of § 77-12 of this article.
J. 
Upon validation by the Clerk, the application shall become a license for the dog described therein. Once an application has been validated, no refund therefor shall be made.
K. 
The Clerk shall provide a copy of the license to the owner and retain a record of the license that shall be made available upon request for official agency purposes only. No license records shall ever be made available for commercial uses.
L. 
No license shall be transferable. Upon the transfer of ownership of any dog, the new owner shall immediately make application for a license for such dog.
M. 
The Town may provide for the establishment and issuance of purebred licenses and, in the event they do so, shall provide for the assessment of a surcharge of at least $3 for the purposes of carrying out animal population control efforts as provided in § 77-6C of this article.
A. 
The license fee for dog licenses issued pursuant to § 77-11 of this article shall be set by resolution of the Town Board. The total fee for an unspayed or unneutered dog shall be at least $5 more than the total fee for a spayed or neutered dog, unless an affidavit is provided pursuant to § 77-11I of this article. All revenue derived from such fees shall be the sole property of the municipality setting the same and shall be used only for controlling dogs and enforcing this article and any rule, regulation, or local law or ordinance adopted pursuant thereto.
B. 
Municipalities may exempt from their licensing fees any guide dog, hearing dog, service dog, war dog, working search dog, detection dog, police work dog or therapy dog. each copy of any license for such dogs shall be conspicuously marked "guide dog," "hearing dog," "service dog," "working search dog," "war dog," "detection dog," "police work dog," or "therapy dog," as may be appropriate, by the Clerk or authorized Dog Control Officer.
C. 
In addition to the fee charged pursuant to Subsection A of this section, all municipalities issuing dog licenses pursuant to this article are required to provide for the assessment of an additional surcharge of at least $1 for altered dogs and at least $3 for unaltered dogs for the purposes of carrying out animal population control efforts as provided.
D. 
In addition to the fee charged pursuant to Subsection A of this section, any municipality issuing dog licenses pursuant to this article is hereby authorized to provide for the assessment of additional surcharges for the purpose of:
(1) 
Recovering costs associated with enumeration conducted pursuant to this article should a dog be identified as unlicensed during such enumeration. Such additional fee shall be the property of the licensing municipality and shall be used to pay the expenses incurred by the Town in conducting the enumeration. In the event the additional fees collected exceed the expenses incurred by the municipality in conducting an enumeration in any year, such excess fees may be used by the municipality for enforcing this article and for spaying or neutering animals; and
(2) 
Offsetting costs associated with the provision and replacement of identification tags pursuant to § 77-13C of this article.
A. 
Each dog licensed pursuant to § 77-11 of this article shall be assigned, at the time the dog is first licensed, a municipal identification number. Such identification number shall be carried by the dog on an identification tag which shall be affixed to a collar on the dog at all times, provided that a municipality may exempt dogs participating in a dog show during such participation.
B. 
No tag carrying an identification number shall be affixed to the collar of any dog other than the one to which that number has been assigned.
C. 
At the time the dog is first licensed, one identification tag shall be furnished to the owner at no charge. Any replacement tag shall be obtained by the owner at their expense at a fee and in a manner prescribed by the Clerk.
A. 
In the event of a change in the ownership of any dog which has been licensed pursuant to this article or in the address of the owner of record of any such dog, the owner of record shall, within 10 days of such change, file with the Clerk in which the dog is licensed a written report of such change. Such owner of record shall be liable for any violation of this article until such filing is made or until the dog is licensed in the name of the new owner.
B. 
If any dog which has been licensed pursuant to this article is lost or stolen, the owner of record shall, within 10 days of the discovery of such loss or theft, file with the Clerk of the Town in which the dog is licensed a written report of such loss or theft. In the case of a loss or theft, the owner of record of any such dog shall not be liable for any violation of this article committed after such report is filed.
C. 
In the case of a dog's death, the owner of record shall so notify the Clerk of the Town in which the dog is licensed either prior to renewal of licensure or upon the time of such renewal as set forth by the municipality in which the dog is licensed.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a violation pursuant to the Penal Law and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to the fines, penalties and other provisions set forth below.
A. 
It shall be a violation, punishable as provided in Subsection B of this section, for:
(1) 
Any owner to fail to license any dog;
(2) 
Any owner to fail to have any dog identified as required by this article;
(3) 
Any person to knowingly affix to any dog any false or improper identification tag, special identification tag for identifying guide, service or hearing dogs or purebred license tag;
(4) 
Any owner or custodian of any dog to fail to confine, restrain or present such dog for any lawful purpose pursuant to this article;
(5) 
Any person to furnish any false or misleading information on any form required to be filed with any municipality pursuant to the provisions of this article or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto;
(6) 
Any owner of a dog to fail to notify the municipality in which his or her dog is licensed of any change of ownership or address as required by § 77-14 of this article.
B. 
Fines: $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense; $250 for the third offense.