[Ord. No. 4-26 §§2 —
4, 10-21-2002]
A. It
shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor upon his/her
premises more than a total of five (5) cats, dogs or domestic others.
B. It
shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor upon his/her
premises more than three (3) dogs.
C. Any
person who owns, keeps or harbors more than five (5) cats, dogs or
domestic others, or owns, keeps or harbors more than three (3) dogs
on his/her premises as of the effective date of this Section (October
21, 2002), shall be exempt from the regulations contained herein;
provided that the person shall submit to the City Clerk not more than
ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Section, sufficient
evidence of said animals.
[CC 1984 §4-76; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(b)), 11-16-1981; Ord. No. 4-13E §1, 12-21-1987]
The owner of any dog or cat shall be responsible for the actions
of his/her dog or cat and shall keep his/her dog or cat under such
restraint as may be required to prevent the dog or cat from injuring
life or property. Failure of the owner of any dog or cat to comply
with this Article shall render any such owner liable for any penalty
imposed by law, this Code or other ordinance.
A. Every
person who is responsible for any puppy or kitten or domestic other
shall have such puppy or kitten or domestic other vaccinated by a
veterinarian against rabies and registered with the County when or
before the puppy or kitten or domestic other reaches six (6) months
of age, but not before it reaches three (3) months of age.
B. Every
cat, dog, domestic other, puppy, and kitten shall be vaccinated by
a veterinarian and issued a tag and registration to expire no later
than the period the anti-rabies vaccine is effective. No cat, dog
or ferret shall be exempted from this Article due to advanced age.
Domestic others are required to have anti-rabies vaccinations if there
is a commercial vaccine available for that species.
C. When
a license tag is procured, the owner shall fasten it securely to the
collar or harness of the animal.
D. The
license tag will be clearly stamped with the year in which the anti-rabies
vaccine was given to the animal, and a figure indicating the number
of the entry on the animal register.
E. The
license tag should be attached to a leather or nylon collar or harness
and shall be worn at all times. License tags will be changed whenever
an updated anti-rabies vaccine is given, and the new license tag should
be exchanged on the collar or harness for the old one. Should the
current tag become lost or defaced, a new one can be purchased from
the attending veterinarian or any other licensed veterinarian if the
vaccination registration paper is presented to their office.
F. Any
new resident of Farmington must register his/her animal and procure
a license tag within thirty (30) days of occupancy.
[CC 1984 §4-78; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(d),(n)(l)), 11-16-1981]
A. The
veterinarian who shall vaccinate any dog or cat shall give the owner
thereof a certificate over his/her signature certifying the date of
the vaccination or inoculation and the length of immunization.
B. Any
person who fails or refuses to exhibit, upon the demand of the Animal
Control Officer, a vaccination certificate for any dog or cat owned
by him/her shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation.
[CC 1984 §4-79; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(i)(4)), 11-16-1981]
A. The
owner or custodian of any vicious dog or cat shall be required to
restrain the dog or cat from running at large in the City at any time.
Every female dog or cat in heat shall be kept confined in a building
or secure enclosure, or in a veterinary hospital or boarding kennel,
in such a manner that it cannot come in contact with another dog or
cat, except for intentional breeding purposes.
B. Any
dog or cat described in this Section found at large shall be impounded
by the Animal Control Officer and may not be redeemed unless redemption
is authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction.
[CC 1984 §4-79.5; Ord. No. 4-13D, §1(2.05), 3-21-1977]
No person shall own, keep or harbor upon his/her premises any
dog or cat that by loud, frequent or habitual barking, yelping or
howling or by threat of attacking or biting causes fear or annoyance
to a person or neighborhood or to persons passing upon the streets
and sidewalks of the City.
[CC 1984 §4-80; Ord. No. 4-34 §1, 8-31-2011]
It shall be unlawful for any owner, keeper, or any person having
the care or control of a dog or cat to suffer or permit the dog or
cat to run at large within the corporate limits of the City; it shall
be the duty of every such owner or person having the care or control
of a dog or cat to keep the same within a proper enclosure upon such
owner's or person's premises; and no dog or cat shall be allowed to
run upon the property of another, and no dog or cat shall be allowed
to roam upon the streets or sidewalks of the City, unless the dog
or cat is securely fastened to a leash or halter and the leash or
halter is held securely by some person at all times.
[Ord. No. 4-49, 6-22-2020]
A. It
is unlawful in the City for the owner or person having charge or control
of any dog to permit such dog to defecate and to allow the feces to
remain upon any public street, sidewalk pathway, park, pedestrian
way, or any public facility; on any school grounds; or on any private
property not owned or possessed by the owner or person having the
charge or control of such dog unless the person shall immediately
and securely enclose all feces deposited by the animal in a bag, wrapper,
or other container and dispose of the feces in a sanitary manner.
A person will be considered to have disposed of feces in a sanitary
manner if such person places such material in a bag or wrapper made
of paper, plastic or some similar material and places it in a refuse
container which is regularly emptied by a refuse collector, or otherwise
disposes of such material on their own property.
B. A sightless
person who has the charge or control of a guide dog or a police dog
in the performance of law enforcement duties, shall be exempt from
the provisions of this Section.
[CC 1984 §4-81; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(i)(l, 2)), 11-16-1981]
A. Any
dog or cat found running at large shall be taken up by the Animal
Control Officer and impounded in the shelter designated as the City
animal shelter and there confined in a humane manner for a period
of not less than one (1) week.
B. When
dogs or cats are found running at large and their ownership is known
to the Animal Control Officer, the dogs or cats need not be impounded,
but the Animal Control Officer may, at his/her discretion, cite the
owners of such to appear in Municipal Court to answer to charges of
violation of this Article.
[CC 1984 §4-82; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(i)(3)), 11-16-1981]
Immediately upon impounding any dog or cat, the Animal Control
Officer shall make every possible reasonable effort to notify the
owners thereof and inform such owners of the conditions whereby they
may regain custody thereof.
[CC 1984 §4-83; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(i)(5, 6)), 210.020(j)(1)), 11-16-1981]
A. The owner shall be entitled to resume possession of any impounded dog or cat, except as provided herein, upon the payment of the redemption fees set forth in Section
205.260 and upon receipt of acceptable proof of ownership. Proof of ownership might include a vaccination certificate, affidavits of neighbors, a photograph or other similar effect.
B. Any
dog or cat impounded for being a public nuisance may not be redeemed
unless redemption is authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction.
C. When,
in the judgment of the Animal Control Officer, a dog or cat should
be destroyed for humane reasons, the dog or cat may not be redeemed.
[CC 1984 §4-84; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(j)(2)), 11-16-1981]
Any dog or cat which is impounded under the provisions of this Article and not reclaimed by its owner within three (3) days, or which is ineligible for redemption under the provisions of Section
205.240, may be euthanized by the Animal Control Officer or have its title transferred to the Humane Society or be placed in the custody of some person deemed to be a responsible and suitable owner who will agree to comply with the provisions of this Article and such other regulations as shall be fixed by the City. If the dog or cat is one as to which the respective rights of the owner and the person in possession or custody are determined by State law, such law shall be complied with.
[CC 1984 §4-85; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(k)), 11-16-1981]
Any dog or cat impounded under this Article may be redeemed
upon payment by the owner to the Animal Control Officer of the sum
of three dollars ($3.00) for each dog or cat, and the additional sum
of one dollar ($1.00) for each day the dog or cat is kept after the
expiration of the legal detention period. Impoundment fees set forth
herein and such additional sums as herein provided for keeping animals
shall be collected by the Animal Control Officer for the City.
[CC 1984 §4-86; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(1)), 11-16-1981]
When any person willfully abandons an unwanted dog or cat, unmercifully
leaving it to forage for itself in or nearby the City, and such cast-off
dog or cat enters the City, the owner of such cast-off and unprotected
dog or cat shall be guilty of an ordinance violation.
[CC 1984 §4-87; Ord. No. 4-3B §2(210.020(n)), 11-16-1981]
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Article
shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation.