[1983 Code]
For the purpose of this chapter, "animal or animals," shall
mean and include: dogs, cats, cattle, horses, hogs, ducks, bees, poultry,
pigeons, reptiles or other livestock, including household and domestic
pets.
[1983 Code; amended 1-21-2002]
A. Animals at Large. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or
allow any animal or animals to run at large within the corporate limits
of the Village.
B. Dangerous Animals at Large. It shall be unlawful to permit any dangerous
or vicious animal of any kind to run at large within the Village.
Exhibitions or parades of animals which are ferae naturae in the eyes
of the law may be conducted only upon securing a permit from the Chief
of Police.
C. Disturbing the Peace. It shall be unlawful to harbor or keep any
animal or animals which disturb the peace by loud noises at any time
of the day or night.
D. It shall be unlawful to keep any farm, wild, untamed or exotic animal
within the Village. Such animals include, but are not limited to,
horses, swine, chickens, tigers, bears or any other animal not generally
considered a domestic pet.
E. It shall be unlawful to keep more than three dogs, cats, other domesticated
animals or any combination thereof per address within the Village.
For purposes of this chapter, dogs, cats or other domesticated animals
do not include animals under four months of age.
[1983 Code]
For the purpose of this chapter, the word "dog" shall be construed
to mean all animals of the canine species, both male and female.
[1983 Code; amended 5-18-1998; 12-17-2001]
A. Required, Application. It shall be unlawful for any person to own
or keep a dog within the corporate limits of the Village unless he
shall procure a license therefor. Said owner or keeper shall make
a statement to the Village Clerk giving his name and address, and
the name, breed, color and sex of the dog owned or kept by such person.
B. Expiration. The license shall expire on December 31 next following
the issuance of said license.
C. License Registry. The Village Clerk shall keep a complete registry
of all licensed dogs, describing the same by name, breed, color and
sex, and shall also enter the name and address of the owner or keeper
as given, and the number of the Village license tag.
D. Collar and Tags.
1. Upon presentation of a certificate signed by a veterinarian that
the dog has been vaccinated against rabies during the preceding twelve-month
period, the Village Clerk shall furnish to the person paying the same
a license certificate and tag for the dog for which such a fee has
been paid. The shape of such tag shall be changed each year, and it
shall have stamped thereon the year for which the license is issued,
the word "Thornton," the identifying description, and the number of
the tag to correspond with the number on the license certificate.
2. Every dog legally kept within the Village shall be provided by its
owner or keeper with a collar or harness made of leather, metal or
other substantial material to which a license tag shall be securely
fastened.
3. It shall be unlawful for any person, other than the owner, to remove
a license tag from a dog.
E. Fee. The fee for a dog license shall be $2.
F. Penalty. Any person who shall violate this section shall upon conviction
be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each offense. Subsequent
compliance by the purchase of a license after the date of citation
shall not be a defense.
[1983 Code; amended 12-17-2001; 10-21-2003]
A. Disturbing the Peace.
1. No person owning or keeping any dog shall suffer or permit such dog
to disturb the peace and quiet of the neighborhood by barking, making
other loud or unusual noises, or by running through or across cultivated
gardens or fields.
2. Any dog found in the Village without a license or running at large
is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be impounded.
B. Areas Prohibited to Dogs.
1. No dog shall be permitted, even though the same be on leash or carried,
to enter or be in or on the following places or areas:
a.
Commercial or business areas including adjacent parking areas
and parkways; provided, however, that dogs may be left in cars parked
in parking lots adjacent to commercial or business areas.
b.
Any restaurant or food market.
c.
In the public building and on the public grounds adjacent to
the Village Hall, Public Safety Building, Public Works Building, water
works, library, Village water wells or sewage lift stations; provided,
however, that dogs may be left in cars parked in parking lots adjacent
to public buildings.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to guide, hearing
or support dog accompanying a blind, hearing impaired or physically
handicapped person.
3. It shall be the duty of every police officer to report to the Chief
of Police any dog which is found in the Village contrary to the provisions
of this section.
C. Vicious dogs. No known vicious dogs shall be kept within the limits
of the Village except pursuant to 10-3B-3E. For purposes of this chapter:
DANGEROUS DOG
Any individual dog which when either unmuzzled, unleashed,
or unattended by its owner, or a member of its owner's family,
in a vicious or terrorizing manner, approaches any person in an apparent
attitude of attack upon streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds
or places.
VICIOUS DOG
1.
Any individual dog that when unprovoked inflicts bites or attacks
a human being or other animal either on public or private property.
2.
Any individual dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition
to attack without provocation, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger
the safety of human beings or domestic animals.
3.
Any individual dog that has as a trait or characteristic and
a generally known reputation for viciousness, dangerousness or unprovoked
attacks upon human beings or other animals, unless handled in a particular
manner or with special equipment.
4.
Any individual dog which attacks a human being or domestic animal
without provocation.
5.
Any individual dog which has been found to be a "dangerous dog"
upon three separate occasions.
a.
No dog shall be deemed "vicious" if it bites, attacks, or menaces
a trespasser on the property of its owner or harms or menaces anyone
who has tormented or abused it or is a professionally trained dog
for law enforcement or guard duties. Vicious dogs shall not be classified
in a manner that is specific as to breed.
b.
If a dog is found to be a vicious dog, the dog shall be subject
to enclosure.
D. Vicious Dogs at Large. Any dangerous, fierce or vicious dog running
at large in the public ways or public places of the Village or upon
private premises of any person other than the owner or keeper, or
which shall bite a person as to cause an abrasion of the skin, is
hereby declared to be a nuisance, and such a dog shall be immediately
taken up and impounded.
E. Restraint of vicious or dangerous animals. Every animal declared
dangerous or vicious shall be confined by its owner or authorized
agent of its owner within a building or secure enclosure and, whenever
off the premises of its owner, shall be securely muzzled and restrained
with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds and not
more than three feet in length, or caged. Every person harboring a
vicious animal is charged with an affirmative duty to confine the
animal in such a way that children do not have access to such animal.
F. Penalties. The owner or keeper of a dog shall have a duty to prevent the dog from attacking a human being or animal without provocation. This section shall not apply to professionally trained police dogs or trespassers. Anyone who shall violate this section shall, upon conviction, be fined a minimum of $500 and must keep the dog enclosed and/or restrained pursuant to Subsection
E. In the event the dog attacks a human being or animal without provocation a second time, and the owner or keeper of the animal is convicted under this section, then the dog shall be seized and destroyed by the Village and/or its authorized agents upon application and approval by the court.
[1983 Code]
Any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring more than
three dogs shall be considered a kennel operator and as such shall
be required to secure a kennel license from the Village.
[1983 Code]
Unless other penalty is expressly provided herein, any person
who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter, shall, upon
conviction, be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each
and every offense.