[CC 1978 §270.010; Ord. No. 270.010, 2-19-2004; Bill No. 2010-14(270.010), 6-21-2010]
As used in this Chapter, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Section, unless the context indicates otherwise:
ANIMAL
Both dog and cat as defined herein.
AT LARGE
Outside a fence or pen constructed in such a manner so that the animal cannot escape and not on a leash attached to a permanent, stationary object or controlled by some person physically able to prevent the animal from escaping. This definition shall be interpreted to imply to animals on or off the premises of the owner.
CAT
A member of the feline family both male and female.
DANGEROUS DOG
Any of the following:
1. 
Any dog which, according to the records of the City Clerk, has inflicted severe injury on a human being.
2. 
Any dog which, according to the records of the City Clerk, has killed a domestic animal without provocation while off the owner's property.
3. 
Any dog owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting or any dog trained for fighting.
4. 
Any dog, not owned by a governmental or law enforcement unit, used primarily to guard public or private property.
5. 
Any dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or otherwise threaten the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
6. 
Any dog which, when unprovoked, chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks or any public or private property in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack.
7. 
Any vicious dog as defined in this Section.
DOG
A member of the canine family both male and female.
OWNER
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity owning, controlling or possessing or having the management or care in whole or in part of any animal.
VICIOUS DOG
Any of the following breeds of dogs:
1. 
Pit Bull, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bull Dog, Aussie Bull Dog, Alapaha Blue Blood Bull Dog, Banter Bull Dog, Catahoula Bull Dog, Dorset Olde Tyme Bull Dog, French Bull Dog, Olde Boston Bull Dog, Ca de Bou, Victorian Bull Dog, Valley Bull Dog, English Bull Dog, American Pit Bull Terrier,
2. 
Rottweiler,
3. 
Doberman,
4. 
Chow,
5. 
Dogs of mixed breed when a part of the bloodline is either or a part of any dog described in Subsections (1) through (4) above, and
6. 
Any dog which has the appearance and characteristics of being predominantly of one (1) of the breeds as set forth in Subsections (1) through (4) above.
[CC 1978 §270.020]
No animal owner shall keep any animal within the City after the first (1st) day of August, 1981, unless a license therefor has first been secured. The license shall be issued by the City Clerk for a fee of two dollars fifty cents ($2.50) per each animal. Every application for a license shall be accompanied by a certificate from a qualified veterinarian showing that the animal to be licensed has been given a vaccination against rabies in compliance with Section 205.060 of this Chapter. Animal licenses shall expire on the thirtieth (30th) day of July next following their issuance.
[CC 1978 §270.030]
It shall be the duty of each owner of an animal to pay the license fee imposed in Section 205.020 to the City Clerk on or before the first (1st) day of August of each year or upon acquiring the ownership or possession of any unlicensed animal or upon establishing residence in the City. The Clerk shall cause a notice of the necessity of paying such license fee to be printed in the official paper two (2) times before the thirtieth (30th) day of July each year.
[CC 1978 §270.040]
Upon the payment of the license fee, the City Clerk shall cause the animal to be registered in the City animal register and such Clerk shall enter into the City animal register the date of application for the license tag, the number of the tag issued, to whom and for whom issued, the breed, sex and color of such animal. The Clerk shall thereupon furnish to the person a metallic plate or tag having plainly marked, casted or stamped thereon figures indicating the year for which the tag was issued and a number corresponding with the number of the entry on the animal register. Such plates or tags shall be attached to a leather or metal collar to be worn by the animal for which the plate or tag was issued.
[CC 1978 §270.060]
Animal tags are not transferable and no refund shall be made on any animal license fee because of leaving the City or death of the animal before expiration of the license term. No license shall be issued for an animal which has not been vaccinated against rabies as provided previously under this Chapter during the ninety (90) day period preceding the making of an application for the license except that when an animal is first licensed for an entire year, the license may be issued if the animal has been vaccinated within a period of six (6) months preceding the application for a license. Vaccinations shall be performed only by a doctor qualified to practice veterinary medicine in the State the animal is vaccinated.
[CC 1978 §270.070; Bill No. 90-6(270.070), 3-19-1990]
A. 
The Mayor shall annually, or as soon after the first (1st) day of July or at any time in case of a vacancy, appoint some suitable person as Humane Officer of the City of Chaffee with such assistants as may be deemed necessary. Alternatively, the Mayor may appoint a Police Officer employed by the City of Chaffee to serve in the capacity of Humane Officer. Such action shall be complete upon the approval of the City Council after appointment of such person by the Mayor.
B. 
The Humane Officer shall maintain a telephone at which he/she may be reached at any time, day or night.
C. 
It shall be the duty of the Humane Officer to keep the City animal pound in a sanitary condition and to feed and water impounded animals daily. He/she shall also protect impounded animals from cruel treatment.
D. 
The Humane Officer may be referred to in these ordinances as City Animal Impounder or City Animal Catcher or City Dogcatcher.
[CC 1978 §270.080]
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog which by loud, continual or frequent barking, howling or yelping shall annoy or disturb any neighborhood or person, or which habitually barks at or chases pedestrians, horses or any vehicle whatsoever to the annoyance of such pedestrians or drivers or owners of horses or vehicles; provided however, that no violation under this Section shall be prosecuted without there first being filed by an injured party a signed complaint formally charging said violator hereunder.
[CC 1978 §270.090]
It shall be the duty of the City Animal Impounder, the City Marshal and Policemen finding any animal in the City contrary to the provisions of this Section to kill any such animal, if such animal cannot be safely taken up and impounded or is rabid or injured to the extent that destruction of such animal would be merciful.
[CC 1978 §270.100]
If the public safety is endangered by reason of mad or rabid animals, the Mayor shall publish his/her proclamation in some newspaper published in the City, said proclamation to be published for at least two (2) weeks, ordering and requiring every person owning, keeping or harboring any animal within the City to secure and muzzle the same for a period of not less than sixty (60) days from the time specified in the proclamation. Any animal not securely muzzled found running at large within this City, during the time specified in said proclamation, shall be immediately killed by any Policeman of the City.
[CC 1978 §270.110; Bill No. 87-8(270.010), 9-8-1987]
A. 
No person, owning, controlling, possessing, or having the management or care, in whole or in part, of any animal shall permit such animal to run at large unless such animal is securely tied or led by a line or leash not to exceed ten (10) feet in length, so as to effectively prevent such animal from biting, molesting or approaching any other person or animal. Further, if said animal shall have a weight of thirty-five (35) pounds or more, in addition to being securely tied or led by a line or leash, said animal shall have in addition to any other collar or chain, a choke chain to which said line or leash shall be securely attached. Said line or leash shall be so attached to the choke chain so that it will function in the manner by which said choke chain is designed.
B. 
Any bitch (dog), registered under the provisions of this Chapter, found running at large within this City while in heat shall be impounded. It shall be unlawful for any person keeping or harboring within this City any bitch (dog), knowing the same to be in heat, to suffer or permit the same to run at large while in such state; and every person keeping or harboring any bitch (dog) within this City, knowing the same to be in heat, who shall suffer or permit the same to run at large while in such state shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep and harbor within this City any dangerous or vicious dog knowing the same to be dangerous or vicious, and suffer or permit the same to be, or run at large, upon any public street or sidewalk or thoroughfare, or on premises of persons other than the owner or keeper, or in or on the premises occupied by such owner or keeper, jointly or in common with any other person within this City, without being properly muzzled. Every person violating the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation.
[CC 1978 §270.120]
A. 
Any person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of an ordinance violation:
1. 
Baiting or fighting animals;
2. 
Permitting baiting or animal fighting to be done on any premises under his or her charge or control;
3. 
Promoting, conducting, or staging a baiting or fight between two or more animals;
4. 
Advertising a baiting or fight between two or more animals;
5. 
Collecting any admission fee for a baiting or fight between two or more animals;
6. 
Knowingly attending the baiting or fighting of animals;
7. 
Knowingly selling, offering for sale, shipping, or transporting any animal which has been bred or trained to bait or fight another animal;
8. 
Owning or possessing any of the cockfighting implements, commonly known as gaffs and slashers, or any other sharp implement designed to be attached to the leg of a gamecock;
9. 
Manufacturing, selling, bartering or exchanging any of the cockfighting implements, commonly known as gaffs and slashers, or any other sharp implement designed to be attached to the leg of a gamecock.
[CC 1978 §270.130]
A. 
The Humane Officer shall take up and impound any animal found in the City not wearing a tag indicating that such animal has been licensed and vaccinated for the current year, whether such animal be with its owner, running at large, or enclosed. It shall also be the duty of the Humane Officer to take up and impound animals which may be kept or are running at large contrary to any provision of this Chapter.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to do any of the following, to wit:
1. 
Tamper with any property, cage, kennel or equipment used by the City dog catcher or located upon the property used by the City for the catching or impounding of stray or unlicensed animals.
2. 
Enter without authority upon the property used by the City for the impounding of stray or unlicensed animals.
3. 
Release any animal impounded by the City without authority of the dog catcher, Chief of Police, or Mayor.
[CC 1978 §270.140; Bill No. 97-09(270.140), 5-5-1997]
A. 
The owner of any licensed, impounded animal or any person with the written authority of the owner may redeem the animal within a period of ten (10) business days after impoundment by paying the Humane Officer the sum of five dollars ($5.00) together with a boarding fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each day the animal has been impounded.
B. 
The owner of any unlicensed, impounded animal or any person with the written authority of the owner may redeem the animal within a period of ten (10) business days after impoundment by paying the Humane Officer the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) together with a boarding fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each day the animal has been impounded and by fulfilling the requirements of Subsection (C) herein.
C. 
If such animal has not been licensed or vaccinated for rabies, the owner, in addition to paying the redemption fees and boarding fees and before being entitled to have such animal, shall procure a conditional license if no license has been issued, which will be issued upon the condition that the owner make satisfactory arrangements to have the animal vaccinated for rabies within forty-eight (48) hours after the release of the animal from the pound, and the said owner shall within said forty-eight (48) hours produce the certificate of vaccination from a duly licensed veterinarian and exhibit the same to the Chief of Police, the Humane Office or the City Clerk, whereupon the conditional license shall be made unconditional.
[CC 1978 §270.150]
A. 
Any animal that is not redeemed within ten (10) business days after impoundment shall become the property of the City of Chaffee, Missouri, and shall be placed for adoption in a suitable home as set out by the Humane Society or shall be humanly euthanized.
B. 
When licensed animals are impounded, the Humane Officer shall if possible, with safety to himself/herself, determine the owner's identity and advise the City Clerk's office of that fact, and the City Clerk shall endeavor to notify the animal's owner of the animal's captivity within forty-eight (48) hours from the time of capture. Such notice may be given by any means reasonably calculated to communicate the same to the owner or custodian of such animal.
C. 
The notice as required in Subsection (B) of this Section shall take the following form:
 
NOTICE OF IMPOUNDING ANIMALS
Date
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I have this date taken up and impounded in the pound of the (City) at ________ Street, an animal answering to the following description:
Sex ________ Color __________ Breed ___________ Type
Approximate Age _______
Name of Owner
Notice is hereby given that unless said animal is claimed and redeemed on or before ____ o'clock ____M. on the ____ day of __________, 20______, the same will be sold or killed as provided by ordinance.
Signed
Poundmaster
[CC 1978 §270.160]
The owner of any animal which exhibits clinical symptoms of rabies shall be required to have the animal confined under the supervision of a licensed practicing veterinarian for ten (10) days for clinical observation. All expenses shall be borne by the owner.
[CC 1978 §270.170]
A. 
The owner of any animal which has been exposed to rabies shall have such animal destroyed or follow one (1) of the following alternatives:
1. 
If the animal has a current vaccination, the animal shall be revaccinated or restrained by a leash or confined for a thirty (30) day period. If rabies symptoms appear, the animal shall be placed under the care and direction of a licensed veterinarian.
2. 
If the animal does not have a current vaccination, the animal shall be placed under the care and direction of a licensed veterinarian. Any cost incurred in complying with this Section shall be an obligation of the owner.
[CC 1978 §270.180; Bill No. 2007-26(270.180), 8-20-2007]
A. 
It shall be unlawful to keep any animal in any structure, pen, coop or yard that is not maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times, devoid of all rodents and vermin and free from offensive, disagreeable or obnoxious smell or odor to the injury, annoyance or inconvenience of any of the inhabitants of the neighborhood.
B. 
The accumulation of animal feces/excrement on any private property is hereby declared a nuisance.
1. 
Accumulation of animal feces/excrement for purposes of this Section shall mean:
a. 
Any quantity that constitutes a hazard to the health, safety or convenience of persons other than the owner of the animal; or
b. 
Any quantity that interferes with the use of or enjoyment of any neighboring property as a result of odors, visual blight, or attraction of insects or pests.
2. 
Each owner, occupant or person having charge of any such property where a nuisance exists who is notified in accordance with the provisions set forth herein by the duly authorized agent of the City of Chaffee to remove such feces/excrement shall be charged with the duty of removing such feces and excrement and satisfactorily disposing of the same within twenty-four (24) hours from the date and hour that the notice is provided.
3. 
Notice of the existence of the nuisance shall be set forth in writing providing the date of the inspection, the address of the property found in violation and a description of the accumulation of feces/excrement being observed.
4. 
If the premises where an accumulation of feces/excrement is found contains only a single-family dwelling, then the notice should be directed to the occupant of such premises. If the premises where the accumulation of feces/excrement is found contains more than one (1) dwelling unit, the notice shall then be directed to the record owner of such premises or to the agent in charge of the premises.
5. 
The effective date and hour of a notice issued under this Section shall be determined in accordance with the manner in which notice was served.
a. 
If the notice is personally served to an owner of record of the property or to an adult occupant of the premises or to the agent in charge of such premises, then the effective date and hour of the notice is the date and hour when so personally served; or
b. 
If the notice is delivered to the usual place of abode of an owner of the property and delivered to a person in the owner's family who is thirteen (13) years of age or older, such individual receiving the notice shall be informed of the contents thereof and concurrently a copy of the notice shall be sent by first class mail postage prepaid addressed to the usual place of abode of such owner, then the effective date and hour is the date and hour when the same was personally served to the owner's family member; or
c. 
If the notice is sent by certified or registered mail addressed to an owner of record at his/her last known address and receipt thereof is returned with the signature of an owner of record, then the effective date and hour of said notice shall be Midnight of the date following the date that the owner signed the mailing acknowledgment receipt.
6. 
Any person failing to satisfactorily remove and dispose of such feces/excrement within twenty-four (24) hours of the effective date and hour of the notice to remove the same shall be guilty of an ordinance violation and subject to a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) and not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the first (1st) violation. Any person who shall be found guilty of violating the provisions of this Subsection (B) for a second (2nd) or subsequent time shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). For the second (2nd) or any subsequent violation by the same person, no notice is required to be given and the person shall be subject to commencement of Municipal Court proceedings without additional notice being provided to that person.
C. 
The owner or person in control of an animal when exercising the animal off of the property of the owner shall immediately collect and properly dispose of any feces that the animal may deposit on City property or private property. Any person found guilty of the provisions of Subsection (C) of this Section shall be punished in accordance with the general penalty provision of the City ordinances as set forth in Section 100.220 of this Code.
D. 
It shall be unlawful for the owner or any person in charge of any animal to:
1. 
Fail, refuse or neglect to provide such animal with sufficient wholesome food, fresh potable water, adequate shade or shelter; or
2. 
Cruelly or unnecessarily expose any such animal to hot, stormy, cold or inclement weather when adequate shelter is not accessible to the animal; or
3. 
Carry or keep any such animal in or upon any vehicle in a cruel or inhumane manner.
As used in Section 205.180(D), any reference to "shade" shall mean protection from the direct rays of the sun and the elements or other weather conditions; and "shelter" shall mean a moisture-proof structure of suitable size to accommodate the animal and allow retention of body heat, made of durable material with a solid floor raised at least two (2) inches from the ground and with the entrance covered by a flexible, wind-proof material. The shelter shall be provided with a sufficient quantity of suitable bedding to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.
[CC 1978 §270.190]
Licensed fees shall be waived for service animals or governmental Police dogs. However, all other requirements shall be maintained under this governing ordinance.
[Bill No. 2006-24(270.012), 10-2-2006]
A. 
No person or group of persons (regardless of whether the individuals reside in one (1) residence) shall keep, harbor or maintain within the City of Chaffee, Missouri, in any combination a total of more than four (4) dogs and/or cats over the age of six (6) months unless such person has a commercial kennel and appropriate licenses or is a licensed Missouri veterinarian. Any person in violation of this Section shall upon conviction be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation. Such conviction shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
B. 
For the purposes of this Chapter, all persons residing in one (1) residence shall be considered one (1) owner. Further, the person(s) in possession of the property where the dogs and/or cats are maintained shall be deemed the person(s) harboring and maintaining the dogs and/or cats on said property.