[R.O. 2008 §245.010; Ord. No. 418 §1, 6-8-1992]
The following words and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
CAT
Any member of the feline (genus Felis) family.
CATTERY
The keeping and maintaining by any person of more than three (3) cats over six (6) months of age within the City limits.
DOG
Any member of the canine (genus Canis) family.
ENCLOSURE
A fence or structure of at least six (6) feet in height forming or causing an enclosure suitable to prevent the entry of young children and suitable to confine a vicious dog in conjunction with other measures which may be taken by the owner, such as tethering of the vicious dog. Such enclosure shall be securely enclosed and locked and designed with secure sides, top and bottom and shall be designed to prevent the animal from escaping from the enclosure.
KENNEL
The keeping and maintaining by any person of more than three (3) dogs over six (6) months of age within the City limits.
OWNER
Any person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or cat within the City limits.
VICIOUS DOG
1. 
Any dog:
a. 
Which, when unprovoked, in a vicious or terrorizing manner approaches any person in an apparent attitude of attack upon any street, sidewalk or other area used by the public or dedicated to public use;
b. 
With a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals, as defined in this Chapter;
c. 
Which bites, inflicts injury, assaults or otherwise attacks a domestic animal or human being without provocation on any property;
d. 
Owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting or any dog trained for dog fighting; or
e. 
Which is required to be licensed by the City of Ironton and which is not so licensed.
2. 
A dog is not a vicious dog if an injury or damage is sustained by a person who, at the time such injury or damage was sustained, was committing a willful trespass or other tort upon premises occupied by the keeper or owner of the dog, or was teasing, tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the dog or was committing or attempting to commit a crime or violation of a municipal ordinance.
3. 
A dog is not a vicious dog if any injury or damage is sustained by a domestic animal which, at the time such injury or damage was sustained, was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog.
4. 
A dog is not a vicious dog if the dog was protecting or defending a human being within the immediate vicinity of the dog from an unjustified attack or assault.
[R.O. 2008 §245.020; Ord. No. 358 §2, 7-23-1984]
It shall be unlawful for any person owning, controlling, harboring, possessing, or having the management or care, in whole or in part, of any dog or cat to permit such dog or cat to run at large. For the purposes of this Chapter, every dog or cat when on any street, alley or any other public places in the City of Ironton, which is not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held, or when on private property within said City, which is either not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held or which is not so confined to the owner's property by suitable means such as a leash, chain or fence so as to prevent its straying from the premises, shall be deemed running at large.
[R.O. 2008 §245.023; Ord. No. 418 §2, 6-8-1992; Ord. No. 447 §1, 1-9-1995]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons residing within the same household or residence or upon the same real property located within the City of Ironton, Missouri, to keep or maintain in the aggregate more than three (3) cats over six (6) months of age within the City limits without first obtaining a special use permit from the Ironton Board of Aldermen and a cattery license. It shall also be unlawful for any person to keep and maintain in the aggregate more than three (3) dogs over six (6) months of age within the City limits without first obtaining a special use permit from the Ironton Board of Aldermen and a kennel license. A special use permit shall be applied for in writing and may be granted by the Ironton Board of Aldermen in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in Chapter 400, Zoning Regulations, of the City of Ironton, Missouri. No person shall establish a cattery or kennel within the City of Ironton, Missouri, without first applying for and receiving a special use permit for such cattery or kennel from the Ironton Board of Aldermen.
B. 
Any person within the City limits, managing or maintaining a cat cattery or dog kennel shall pay a minimum annual license fee in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), which license fee shall entitle the cattery or kennel owner to keep and maintain five (5) cats or five (5) dogs over six (6) months of age in such cattery or kennel, and two dollars ($2.00) for each additional cat or dog over six (6) months of age under restraint and on the cattery or kennel owner's premises at all times. It is further provided that all cats or dogs covered by this license shall be vaccinated as provided in Section 205.040 of this Chapter.
[R.O. 2008 §245.025; Ord. No. 418 §3, 6-8-1992; Ord. No. 628 §§ 1 — 2, 11-14-2016]
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dog, cat or other domestic animal over three (3) months of age to keep or maintain any such animal unless it shall have been vaccinated with anti-rabies vaccine, by either a licensed veterinarian or by a self-administered kit, so long as the owner provides appropriate documentation verifying the anti-rabies vaccination has occurred, the type of vaccination, the date of vaccination, and the type of kit utilized therefor; and such vaccination shall be renewed from time to time as may be necessary. The owner of any dog, cat or other domestic animal shall at all times, upon the request of any Police Officer, Animal Control Officer or Assistant Animal Control Officer, furnish proof that such animal has been vaccinated with anti-rabies vaccine and that the vaccination is still effective.
[R.O. 2008 §245.030; Ord. No. 358, §§3 — 5, 7-23-1984]
A. 
Registration. No dog or cat shall be permitted to be and remain within the corporate limits of the City of Ironton, Missouri, unless the owner thereof, or someone for said owner, shall have caused said dog or cat to be registered with the City of Ironton, Missouri, and the registration fee on said dog or cat to be paid on or before the first day of January of each year.
B. 
Registration Fee. The registration fee on each dog or cat, male or female, of which the certificate of a veterinarian or the affidavit of the owner is produced, shall be two dollars ($2.00) per year, payable to the City Collector of Ironton; upon payment of the registration fee, a suitable identification tag will be issued to the owner for attachment to the collar of the dog or cat.
C. 
Registration Tags And Certificates, How Furnished. The City Collector shall procure, whenever necessary, such a number of metallic tags as may be required, of convenient size and shape and design, to be changed at the discretion of the Collector; and said City Collector shall also cause to be prepared printed blanks bound in book form, and arranged in such manner that one (1) certificate can be torn out and a stub or duplicate thereof left in the book.
D. 
Anti-Rabies Vaccination Required. Before registering such dog or cat, the owner of the dog or cat shall produce to said City Collector a tag or certificate issued by a duly licensed and practicing veterinarian of the State of Missouri, or shall produce documentation evidencing a self-administered vaccination by the owner and thereby produce documentation verifying the date of the vaccination of said dog or cat by said self-administered kit, for said particular dog or cat, showing that said dog or cat has been immunized or vaccinated against rabies at the expense of the owner or custodian by administration of anti-rabic virus vaccine by a licensed veterinarian or per said authorized self-administered kit.
[Ord. No. 628 §§ 1, 3, 11-14-2016]
[R.O. 2008 §245.040; Ord. No. 358 §6, 7-23-1984]
It shall be the duty of every Police Officer and Animal Control Officer of the City of Ironton to take up and impound, in a suitable place, to be designated by the Board of Aldermen, any and all dogs and cats not restrained upon a leash as provided in Section 205.020 of this Chapter. If the dog or cat wears a tag or if its owner can be identified by any reasonable means, the owner of such animal shall be notified by a Police Officer or Animal Control Officer as soon as possible after the animal has been impounded. It shall further be the duty of every Police Officer and Animal Control Officer of the City of Ironton to kill any dog or cat acting in such a manner as to be dangerous to the public or which cannot be safely taken up and impounded without endangering the life or limb of the officer attempting to capture and impound the same.
[R.O. 2008 §245.050; Ord. No. 358 §7, 7-23-1984; Ord. No. 533 §1, 10-25-2004]
A. 
Any dog or cat so taken and impounded as aforesaid may be redeemed by the owner or custodian thereof by paying to a Police Officer or Animal Control Officer, such money being transferred from the collecting officer to the City Collector, a sum of money in accordance with the following fee schedule:
1. 
For taking up and impounding said dog or cat: ten dollars ($10.00).
2. 
For feeding and caring for said dog or cat, per day, or any portion thereof: six dollars ($6.00).
B. 
In the event that the dog or cat is not redeemed by the owner or custodian thereof within ten (10) days after the date of taking up and impounding the same, any person may redeem such dog or cat by paying the fees set forth in this Section.
[R.O. 2008 §245.060; Ord. No. 358 §8, 7-23-1984; Ord. No. 533 §2, 10-25-2004]
All dogs and cats remaining in the City's animal shelter ten (10) days after the date of taking up and impounding the same shall be killed or disposed of by a Police Officer, Animal Control Officer or their duly authorized agent.
[R.O. 2008 §245.070; Ord. No. 358 §9, 7-23-1984]
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog that 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.
[R.O. 2008 §245.080; Ord. No. 358 §11, 7-23-1984]
Whenever a dog or cat shall be impounded and shall not be redeemed by the owner, and the owner can be identified, such owner shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation and shall be subject to a penalty as set forth in Section 100.080 of this Code, together with cost of suit, and maintaining and destroying such animal.
[R.O. 2008 §245.090; Ord. No. 358 §12, 7-23-1984]
Every owner of a dog or cat and every person who shall suffer or permit a dog or cat to remain upon premises under his/her immediate control without having caused such dog or cat to be registered and the registration fee thereon to be paid as provided herein, shall be guilty of an ordinance violation, and subject to penalty as provided in Section 100.220 of this Code.
[R.O. 2008 §245.100; Ord. No. 358 §13, 7-23-1984]
Any person or persons who shall interfere with, resist, hinder or obstruct any member of the Police Force, or any Animal Control Officer, in the discharge of any duty imposed upon him/her by this Chapter, such person shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation, and subject to penalty as provided in Section 100.220 of this Code.
[R.O. 2008 §245.110; Ord. No. 418 §4, 6-8-1992]
A. 
It shall be unlawful to keep a vicious dog within the City unless the owner of such vicious dog meets the following requirements:
1. 
The owner shall display a sign on his or her premises warning that there is a vicious dog on the premises and reading, in letters not less than two (2) inches high: "VICIOUS DOG HERE," "BEWARE OF VICIOUS DOG," "FIERCE DOG HERE," or "BEWARE OF FIERCE DOG." The sign shall be conspicuously visible to the public. In case a minor is the owner or keeper of such vicious dog, the duty of posting this notice shall be upon the adult person in whose family the minor lives, or the adult person who is in charge of the premises where such vicious dog is kept.
2. 
The owner shall have a locked enclosure for the vicious dog on the property where the vicious dog will be kept or maintained, and the vicious dog shall be confined in said enclosure, with the door locked. If the vicious dog is removed from the enclosure, it shall be securely muzzled and restrained with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of three hundred (300) pounds and not exceeding three (3) feet in length.
3. 
The owner shall notify the Police Department or Animal Control Officer within twenty-four (24) hours if a vicious dog is at large, is unconfined, or has attacked another animal or a human being.
B. 
It shall be unlawful to own or harbor any dog for the purpose of fighting or train, torment, badger, bait or use any dog for the purpose of causing or encouraging said dog to commit unprovoked attacks upon human beings or domestic animals. It shall be unlawful to possess with intent to sell, offer to sell, breed, buy or attempt to buy any vicious dog.
C. 
The provisions of this Section concerning vicious dogs shall not apply to dogs owned by any Law Enforcement Agency or Officer which are used in the performance of police work.
D. 
Any person convicted of violating this Section concerning vicious dogs shall be adjudged guilty of an ordinance violation, and for the first offense, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the City Jail not exceeding ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. For each subsequent violation of this Section, the minimum fine shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00). Each day any such violation shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
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Editor's Note: Former Section 205.140, Keeping of Pit Bulls Prohibited, was repealed 3-12-2018 by Ord. No. 637. In accordance with said repeal, the animal control officer shall no longer be required to cite persons for the unlawful keeping, harboring, owning, or in any way possessing pit bulls within the City of Ironton, Missouri. In the event there are any pending violations of said 205.140 of the Ironton Municipal Code within the Ironton Municipal Court, then the city attorney is hereby authorized and instructed to dismiss with prejudice any such pending cases. Further, any and all pit bull dogs which may be located within the City of Ironton shall be subject to any and all other provisions within the animal control ordinances of the City of Ironton and further with respect to any pit bull that is found to be a vicious dog in accordance with the provisions of Section 205.130 of the Ironton Municipal Code.