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Village of Richfield, WI
Washington County
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[Amended 8-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-8-2; 8-18-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-08-01]
A. 
Animal fancier's permit.
(1) 
Permit required. No person shall own more than three dogs and/or three cats in the Village without first obtaining a permit from the Village Treasurer's office.
(2) 
Application and fee. Applications for an animal fancier's permit may be obtained from the Village Treasurer's office. The application must be submitted to the Village along with a check for the fee established in the Village fee schedule.
(3) 
Permits issued under this subsection shall expire annually on March 31.
(4) 
List of animals to be provided. A list of the animals to be kept within the owner's property shall be provided on the permit.
(5) 
Dogs to be licensed. Any dogs to be kept on the animal fancier's property shall be duly licensed by the Village. Cats reported on the permit are not required to be licensed.
(6) 
Operation. An animal fancier's property shall be kept in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) 
All animals shall be maintained in a healthy condition or, if ill, shall be given appropriate treatment immediately.
(b) 
The quarters in which animals are kept shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition and in a good state of repair.
(c) 
Feces and odorous materials shall be removed from yards/enclosures in a timely manner, and such materials shall be stored in a tightly covered container until final disposal.
(d) 
The premises for the animals shall be kept free of insect infestations and diseases.
(e) 
All animal yards/enclosures shall be sufficiently large to permit freedom of movement to the animals.
(f) 
No odor or noise nuisance shall be permitted.
(g) 
All animals shall be maintained in accordance with all Village ordinances spelled out in this chapter.
(h) 
No animals licensed under an animal fancier's permit shall be used for commercial purposes other than showing of the same and breeding no more than two litters per property/residence per year.
B. 
Kennel.
(1) 
Permit required. No person shall operate a kennel without a permit. Kennels are allowed only in the A-1 Exclusive Agricultural and A-2 General Agricultural Zoning Districts or as may be permitted in business zoning districts. All kennels require a conditional use permit.
(2) 
Fee required. The fee to operate a kennel is established by § 174.053, Wis. Stats.
(3) 
Expiration of permit. Such permit shall expire annually on March 31.
(4) 
Operation. Kennels shall be operated in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) 
All animals shall be maintained in a healthy condition or, if ill, shall be given appropriate treatment immediately.
(b) 
The quarters in which animals are kept shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition and in a good state of repair.
(c) 
Feces and odorous materials shall be removed from yards/enclosures in a timely manner, and such materials shall be stored in a tightly covered container until final disposal.
(d) 
The premises and the animals shall be kept free of insect infestations and diseases.
(e) 
All animal yards/enclosures shall be sufficiently large to permit freedom of movement to the animals.
(f) 
No odor or noise nuisance shall be permitted.
(g) 
All animals shall be maintained in accordance with all Village ordinances spelled out in this chapter.
C. 
Other.
(1) 
The animal fancier's permit and kennel permit are effective January 1, 2005.
(2) 
Required. It shall be unlawful for any person in the Village to own, harbor, or keep any dog more than five months of age without complying with the provisions of §§ 174.05 to 174.09, Wis. Stats., relating to the listing, licensing, and tagging of the dog. There is imposed a Village dog license tax, payable to the Village Treasurer or designee, which includes a dog license tax imposed under § 174.05(2) and (3), Wis. Stats., in the amounts set by the Village fee schedule for spayed or neutered dogs and for others and 1/2 the license tax for dogs becoming five months of age after July 1 per year for all dogs required to be licensed under statute.
(3) 
Kennel license payment option. The owners of kennels may opt to pay, in lieu of the fees provided in Subsection C(2) of this section, a kennel license fee for a kennel of 12 dogs or fewer and an additional amount for each dog in excess of 12 shall be set by the Village fee schedule, and the Village Treasurer or designee shall issue tags for each dog owned by the kennel owner, as provided in § 174.053, Wis. Stats.
(4) 
Late fees. The Village Treasurer or designee shall assess and collect a late fee established by the Village fee schedule from every owner of a dog five months of age or older if the owner failed to obtain a license prior to April 1 of each year or within 30 days of acquiring ownership of a licensable dog, or if the owner failed to obtain a license before the dog reached licensable age.
(5) 
Lost license tag. If a metallic license tag issued for a dog shall be lost, the owner may obtain a duplicate tag from the Village Treasurer or designee upon the payment of the amount set by the Village fee schedule.
(6) 
Change of ownership. If there is a change of ownership of a licensed dog or kennel during the license year, the new owner may have the current license transferred to his or her name upon payment of a transfer fee set by the Village fee schedule.
(7) 
Transfer. No person shall use for any animal a license receipt or license tag issued for another animal.
(8) 
Collections. The Washington County Humane Society is authorized to collect funds and issue dog licenses on behalf of the Village.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep a dog in the Village that is over five months of age and has not received a rabies vaccination as required by § 95.21(2), Wis. Stats. No dog license shall be issued until a certificate of rabies vaccination issued by a veterinarian has been presented. A rabies vaccination tag shall be attached to the collar of all licensed dogs at all times, except as provided in § 95.21(2)(f), Wis. Stats.
A. 
Running at large defined. A dog is considered to be running at large if it is off the premises of its owner and not under the restraint of the owner or some other person as defined in § 118-1. No person owning or having in his or her possession or under his or her control any dog shall allow such dog to run at large within the Village, provided that an animal shall not be deemed to be at large if the following provisions apply:
(1) 
It is attached to a leash not more than 10 feet in length which is of sufficient strength to restrain the dog and the leash is held by a person competent to govern the dog and prevent it from annoying or worrying pedestrians or trespassing on private property or on public property where such dogs are forbidden.
(2) 
It is properly restrained within a motor vehicle.
(3) 
It is engaged in the act of hunting or training for show, field trial or obedience trial purposes, in the control of its owner or his or her agent competent to govern such dog at a distance, and not annoying or worrying pedestrians or trespassing on private property or on public property where such dogs are forbidden.
B. 
Untagged dog. A dog is considered to be untagged if a valid license tag is not attached to a collar that is kept on the dog whenever the dog is outdoors unless the dog is securely confined in a fenced area.
C. 
Subject to impoundment. Any law enforcement officer shall attempt to capture and restrain any dog running at large and any untagged dog.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 10.02C(4) of the prior Code, Penalties, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 8-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-8-2. See now § 118-3.
Every person, including the owner or person harboring or keeping a dog, who knows that a dog has bitten any person shall immediately report such fact to the Washington County Sheriff.
No person shall own, keep, harbor, or have in his or her possession any dog within the Village which, by frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking, or other disturbing noise, individually or together, offends the peace and quiet of persons of ordinary sensibilities, thereby causing a serious disturbance to persons or to the neighborhood. For purposes of a violation under this section, when the person alleged to have violated this section owns, keeps, harbors or has in his or her possession more than one dog of the type causing the disturbance, it is not required to identify the particular dog causing the disturbance. Each day that such disturbance continues or occurs gives rise to a separate offense.