As used in this article the following terms mean:
Any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild.
Any facility operated by a humane society or municipal agency
or its authorized agents for the purpose of impounding or caring for
animals held under the authority of this article or state law.
Any person, partnership or corporation owning, keeping, or
harboring one or more animals. An animal shall be deemed to be harbored
if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more.
Any animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.
Any animal or animals which:
Molests passersby or passing vehicles.
Attacks other animals.
Trespasses on school grounds.
Is repeatedly at large.
Damages private or public property.
Barks, whines, or howls in an excessive, continuous, or untimely
fashion reasonably calculated to disturb the comfort and repose of
a reasonable person of normal nervous sensibilities, and of ordinary
tastes, habits, and modes of living in the vicinity.
Any animal secured by a leash or lead, or under the control
of a responsible person and obedient to that person’s commands,
or within the real property limits of its owner.
Any animal or animals that constitute a physical threat to
human beings or other animals.
Any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, fox,
poisonous snake, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx, or any other
warm-blooded animal which can normally be found in the wild state.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-31; Ordinance
345 adopted 8/17/95)
(a)
Any
person owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody of any dog, cat,
or ferret over three months of age within the city must obtain a license
as herein provided. This provision may not apply to the keeping of
small cage birds, or aquatic and amphibian animals solely as pets.
(b)
Written
application for licenses shall be made to the licensing authority
which shall include name and address of the applicant, description
of the animal, the appropriate fee, and rabies certificate issued
by a licensed veterinarian or antirabies clinic.
(c)
If
not revoked, licenses for the keeping of dogs, cats and ferrets shall
be for a period of one year.
(d)
Application
for a license must be made within thirty days after obtaining a dog,
cat, or ferret over three months, except that this requirement will
not apply to a nonresident keeping a dog, cat, or ferret within the
city for not longer than sixty days.
(e)
License
fees shall not be required for Seeing Eye dogs or governmental police
dogs.
(f)
Upon
acceptance of the license application and fee, the licensing authority
shall issue a durable tag or identification collar stamped with an
identifying number.
(g)
Dogs,
cats, and ferrets must wear identification tags or collars at all
times when off the premises of the owners.
(h)
The
licensing authority shall maintain a record of the identifying numbers
of all tags issued and shall make this record available to the public.
(i)
The
licensing period shall begin with the issuance of the identification
tag or collar and shall run for one year.
(j)
Persons
who fail to obtain a license as required within the time period specified
in this section will be subjected to a fine of not less than $10.00
nor more than $200.00.
(l)
A
duplicate license may be obtained upon payment of a $1.00 replacement
fee.
(m)
No
person may use any license for any animal other than the animal for
which it was issued.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-32; Ordinance
adopting Code)
(a)
The
licensing authority may revoke any permit or license if the person
holding the license refuses or fails to comply with this article,
the regulations promulgated by the licensing authority, or any law
governing the protection and keeping of animals.
(b)
Any
person whose license is revoked shall, within ten days thereafter,
humanely dispose of all animals owned, kept, or harbored, and no part
of the license fee shall be refunded.
(c)
It
shall be a condition of the issuance of any license that the licensing
authority shall be permitted to inspect all animals and the premises
where animals are kept at a reasonable time and shall, if permission
for such inspections is refused, revoke the license of the refusing
owner.
(d)
If
the applicant has withheld or falsified any information on the application,
the licensing authority shall refuse to issue a license.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-33)
(a)
All
dogs shall be kept under restraint.
(b)
No
owner shall fail to exercise proper care and control of his animals
to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance.
(c)
Every
female dog or cat in heat shall be confined in a building or secure
enclosure in such a manner that such female dog or cat cannot come
into contact with another animal except for planned breeding.
(d)
Every
vicious animal, as determined by the licensing authority, shall be
confined by the owner, within a building or secure enclosure, and
shall be securely muzzled or caged whenever off the premises of its
owner.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-34)
(a)
Unrestrained
dogs and nuisance animals shall be taken by the police or animal control
officers and impounded in an animal shelter and there confined in
a humane manner.
(b)
Impounded
dogs and cats shall be kept for not less than five (5) days.
(c)
If
by a license tag or other means the owner of an impounded animal can
be identified, the city shall immediately upon impoundment notify
the owner by telephone or mail.
(d)
An
owner reclaiming an impounded cat shall pay a fee of fifty dollars
($50.00) impounding fee and ten dollars ($10.00) per day the animal
has been impounded.
(e)
An
owner reclaiming an impounded dog shall pay a fee of fifty dollars
($50.00) impounding fee and ten dollars ($10.00) per day the animal
has been impounded.
(f)
Any
animal not reclaimed by its owner within five (5) days shall become
the property of the city and shall be placed for adoption in a suitable
home or humanely euthanized.
(g)
The
owner of an impounded animal may also be prosecuted for violation
of this article.
(h)
The
licensing authority shall review automatically all licenses issued
to animal owners to whom three or more violations have been assessed
in a twelve-month period.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-35; Ordinance
adopting Code; Ordinance 543 adopted 11/17/15)
(a)
No
person shall keep or permit to be kept on his premises any wild or
vicious animal for display or for exhibition purposes whether gratuitously
or for a fee. This section shall not be construed to apply to zoological
parks, performing animal exhibitions or circuses.
(b)
No
person shall keep or permit to be kept any wild animal as a pet.
(c)
The
licensing authority shall have the power to release or order the release
of any infant wild animal kept under temporary permit which is deemed
capable of survival.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-37)
(a)
No
performing animal exhibition or circus shall be permitted in which
animals are induced or encouraged to perform through the use of chemical,
mechanical, electrical, or manual devices in a manner which will cause,
or is likely to cause, physical injury or suffering.
(b)
All
equipment used on a performing animal shall fit properly and be in
good working condition.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-38)
The owner of every animal shall be responsible for the removal
of any excreta deposited by his animal(s) on public walks, recreation
areas, or private property.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-39)
No unclaimed dog or cat shall be released for adoption without
being sterilized, with the expense to be borne by the adopter.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-40)
The civil and criminal provisions of this article shall be enforced by those persons or agencies designated by the city manager. It shall be a violation of this article to interfere with the animal control officer in the performance of his duties. Persons found guilty of violation of this article shall be subject to a fine as provided in section 1.01.009.
(1995 Code, sec. 5-41; Ordinance
adopting Code)
