[CC 1984 §13.010; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 376 §g, 10-17-1989; Ord. No. 462 §§g, i, 12-20-1994; Ord. No. 561 §§g, j, 4-17-2001]
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
ABANDONED
An animal is abandoned if it is not wearing a required license tag or if it is seen causing a nuisance and is not under the apparent control of any person.
ANIMAL
Any types of animals, whether domesticated or wild and whether male or female, and includes all mammals, reptiles, birds and fish.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
Any officer of the City appointed by the Board to assist in the enforcement of this Chapter and carry out the requirements hereof. If no Animal Control Officer has been appointed by the Board, then Animal Control Officer means Chief of Police.
CONFINED
To be kept within bounds of property.
KEEP
Own, control, harbor or have charge of any animal and shall include the habitual lodging or feeding of an animal within or upon premises owned or possessed by any person.
OWNER
Any person who keeps any animal.
RABIES
Hydrophobia.
RESTRAINT
An animal is confined on the property of its owner or securely fastened to a leash held by a person capable of restraining the animal.
VACCINATION
Immunization to prevent rabies;
VICIOUS
Any tendency to injure persons, whether from anger or viciousness and includes a natural fearfulness or disposition to mischief which might occasionally lead to an attack of a human being without provocation. Any animal which bites or causes abrasion to the skin of any person shall be considered vicious.
[CC 1984 §13.020; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
The Animal Control Officer shall have the duty to enforce the provisions of this Chapter and to perform such other duties as the Board shall direct. The Animal Control Officer shall keep a written record of all official transactions involving the receipt or expenditure of funds, which record shall be available for public inspection. The Animal Control Officer may be assisted in the performance of enforcement duties by the City Police Department.
[CC 1984 §13.030; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 347, 9-20-1988; Ord. No. 431, 12-15-1992; Ord. No. 605 §13.030(3), 9-17-2002]
A. 
Vaccination And Licensing. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep a dog or cat over the age of eighteen (18) weeks within the City which has not been:
1. 
Properly vaccinated for the prevention of rabies; and
2. 
Issued a license.
The vaccination herein required shall be performed by a licensed veterinarian.
B. 
Registration And Issuance Of License. A license tag shall issue upon the owner:
1. 
Registering the dog or cat at the City Hall using the printed form supplied by the City; and
2. 
Providing proof of current vaccination of the dog or cat for the prevention of rabies.
C. 
Term And Monetary Penalty. Each license shall issue for a term of one (1) year commencing January first (1st) of each year. Any person who fails to license a dog or cat on or before March first (1st) of any year, any new resident of the City or any resident of the City who acquires ownership of a dog or cat and fails to obtain a license within thirty (30) days after becoming a new resident or acquiring ownership of a dog or cat, shall be required to pay a penalty of one dollar ($1.00) for each month or fraction thereof during which the delinquency continues.
D. 
Fees, Loss And Transfer.
Neutered/spayed dog
$4.00
Neutered/spayed cat commencing January 1, 1994
$4.00
Un-neutered/unspayed dog
$6.00
Un-neutered/unspayed cat commencing January 1,1994
$6.00
Replacement license tag
$1.00
A license shall not be transferable between:
1. 
Dogs;
2. 
Cats; or
3. 
Owners, except where the ownership of a validly licensed dog or cat is transferred. The new owner may have the license transferred to his/her or their name upon:
a. 
Registering the dog or cat at the City Hall using the printed form supplied by the City; and
b. 
Payment of a transfer fee of two dollars ($2.00).
E. 
Display. At all times when a dog or cat is outside the confines of a privately owned building, the license tag shall be affixed to the animal.
[CC 1984 §13.050; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
All abandoned animals shall be impounded by the Animal Control Officer or City Police Department. Impounded animals shall be confined in the animal shelter for a period of seven (7) days or in the case of licensed dogs for a period of fourteen (14) days. The period shall commence on the date of impoundment except for animals impounded under Section 205.110, in which case the period shall commence upon the expiration of the observation period therein provided. After impounding any animal, the Animal Control Officer shall promptly notify the owner of the impoundment if the owner can be ascertained and located after reasonable investigation. However, no liability shall attach to the Animal Control Officer, the City, nor to any officer or employee of the City for failure to notify such owner. The Animal Control Officer shall release an impounded animal to its owner upon production of satisfactory proof of ownership and payment of all fees prescribed in this Chapter if the owner seeks the release of the animal within the impoundment period. Any impounded animal remaining unclaimed at the end of the impoundment period may, upon payment of all fees and charges due, be released to any person who shall provide satisfactory proof of an intention to provide the animal with humane and proper care; provided no unspayed female dog shall be released to such person without written certification by a licensed veterinarian that the veterinarian has been paid in full for the spaying of the dog and will perform the operation within the earlier of thirty (30) days or such dog's first (1st) fertile period. Animals which have not been claimed or released to new owners shall be destroyed in some humane manner by the Animal Control Officer.
[CC 1984 §13.060; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 479, 12-19-1995; Ord. No. 555, 9-19-2000]
The fee for the care of impounded animals shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per day or portion of a day for which the animal is impounded together with a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for any animal picked up by the Animal Control Officer or any City Official or employee; provided that there shall be added to the fee the actual cost of any extraordinary expenses incurred in the impoundment or care of any animal.
[CC 1984 §13.070; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 527A, 10-5-1998]
The owner of any animal shall provide the animal with humane shelter from heat, cold, rain, wind, snow and the elements and shall provide the animal with adequate food and water necessary to maintain the animal's good health and comfort. All animals shall be given the opportunity for vigorous daily exercise and shall be provided with any necessary veterinary care to prevent any suffering. Dog houses, kennels and animal shelters shall be soundly constructed, kept clean and dry and to be provided in cold weather with clean bedding and the area surrounding the facility shall be kept clean and sanitary.
A. 
A person is guilty of animal neglect when he/she has custody or ownership or both of an animal and fails to provide adequate care or adequate control which results in substantial harm to the animal.
B. 
A person is guilty of animal abandonment when he/she has knowingly abandoned an animal in any place without making provisions for its adequate care.
C. 
Animal neglect or animal abandonment are ordinance violations. For a first (1st) offense of either violation, a term of imprisonment not to exceed fifteen (15) days, or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or both such fine and imprisonment may be imposed. For a second (2nd) or subsequent violation of either offense, a term of imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90) days, or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or both such fine and imprisonment may be imposed. All fines and penalties for a first (1st) conviction of animal neglect or animal abandonment may be waived by the court provided that the person found guilty of animal neglect or abandonment shows that adequate, permanent remedies for the neglect or abandonment have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance of neglected or abandoned animals may not be waived.
D. 
In addition to any other penalty imposed by this Section, the court may order a person found guilty of animal neglect or animal abandonment to pay all reasonable costs and expenses necessary for:
1. 
The care and maintenance of neglected or abandoned animals within the person's custody or ownership;
2. 
The disposal of any dead or diseased animals within the person's custody or ownership;
3. 
The reduction of resulting organic debris affecting the immediate area of the neglect or abandonment; and
4. 
The avoidance or minimization of any public health risks created by the neglect or abandonment of the animals.
[CC 1984 §13.080; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 527A, 10-5-1998]
It shall be unlawful for any person to overdrive, overload, torture, torment or cruelly neglect to provide necessary food, water and shelter or beat, mutilate or kill any animal or to cause any such aforementioned act of cruelty to be performed. It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully administer or willfully expose any animal to any poison or poisonous substance. It shall be unlawful for any person to kill, attempt to kill, wound, attempt to wound, capture or attempt to capture any domestic animal unless that person is an Animal Control Officer or other authorized City Official or employee engaged in official duties.
[CC 1984 §13.090; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984]
The owner shall confine any female dog in heat within a building in such a manner that the dog will not be accessible to other dogs and will not attract male dogs. This Section does not apply to dogs involved in planned breeding activities.
[Ord. No. 2025-05, 6-11-2025; Ord. No. 2025-09, 7-9-2025]
If a dog has any history of biting or attacking any person or animal, it shall be unlawful for any person possessing, owning, keeping, or harboring said dog to permit that dog to be at large within the City of Weatherby Lake. Any dog shall be deemed to have been permitted to be at large when found outside the residence structure of the owner, keeper, or harborer and not effectively physically restrained on a chain or leash, or behind a suitable fence or other proper method of physical restraint from which it cannot escape. The term "a chain or leash" shall not be defined to include an electronic leash or any device other than a visible chain or leash made of a material strong enough to control the dog to which it is secured. When any dog is on the property of the owner, keeper, or harborer and accompanied by or under direct supervision of such, the dog shall not be deemed at large. Video surveillance alone does not qualify as under direct supervision.
[CC 1984 §13.100; Ord. No. 267, 7-17-1984; Ord. No. 527A §c, 10-5-1998; Ord. No. 561 §d, 4-17-2001; Ord. No. 950, 1-16-2007; Ord. No. 1051, 1-6-2009]
A. 
Prohibited Acts. The following acts are hereby declared to be prohibited and it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or allow an animal owned by or possessed by such person to engage in the following activities:
1. 
Fail to prevent any animal from leaving the owner's premises unless said animal is under restraint as defined in this Chapter; or
2. 
Keep a vicious animal; or
3. 
Allow any animal to:
a. 
Continually bark, howl, yelp or make loud and raucous noises; or
b. 
Trespass upon the private property of another and damage vegetation; or
c. 
Spread garbage and trash along a roadside or otherwise create an unsanitary condition.
4. 
No person owning or responsible for an animal shall permit the animal to defecate on any publicly owned property or right-of-way or on any private property other than property owned or leased by the person owning or responsible for the animal. If said person allows the animal to defecate on said property, that person must immediately remove the excrement and properly dispose of it in a sanitary manner.