[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Jamestown
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-29-2010[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Chapter
125, Dogs and Other Animals, consisting of Art. I, Control of Dogs,
adopted 7-13-1970, as amended, and Art. II, Dog License Fees, adopted
10-22-1990, as amended. This ordinance also provided an effective
date of 1-1-2011.
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Article
7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York, as
amended by Chapter 59, Part T, of the Laws of 2010, and as may be
subsequently amended or revised.
The purpose of this article shall be to preserve public peace
and good order in the City of Jamestown and to promote the public
health, safety and welfare of its people by enforcing regulations
and restrictions on the activities of dogs that are consistent with
the rights and privileges of dog owners and the rights and privileges
of other citizens of the City of Jamestown.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A person appointed by the City of Jamestown for the purpose
of enforcing this article.
Off the premises of the owner. Any dog that is on property
open to the public or is on private property not owned or leased by
the owner of the dog unless permission for such presence has been
obtained. No dog shall be deemed to be "at large" if it is a guide
dog actually leading a blind person, a police work dog in use for
police work, or a dog accompanied by its owner or other responsible
person and is actively engaged in hunting or training for hunting
on unposted land or posted land with the permission of the owner of
the land or leashed.
Both male and female.
Any dog:
Which, when unprovoked, approaches a person in a vicious or
terrorizing manner in an apparent attitude of attack upon the streets,
sidewalks or any public grounds or places;
With a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked,
causes injury or otherwise endangers the safety of human beings or
domestic animals;
Which bites, inflicts injury, assaults or otherwise attacks
or endangers a human being or domestic animal or household pet without
provocation on public or private property; or
Which is owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose
of dog fighting, or any dog trained for dog fighting.
No dog may be declared dangerous if any 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 owner or keeper of the dog or was teasing, tormenting, abusing
or assaulting the dog or was committing or attempting to commit a
crime. If the trespass is determined to be of an innocent nature,
the Court may, depending on the circumstances and in accordance with
the procedures set forth in this article, find the dog to be dangerous.
No dog may be declared dangerous if it is used by law enforcement
officials for law enforcement work.
Both male and female.
Restrained by a leash, attached to a collar or harness of
sufficient strength to restrain the dog and which shall be held by
a person having the ability to control the dog.
Any person owning, keeping, harboring or having the care,
custody or control of any dog or cat, and when any such owner shall
be a child under the age of 16 years, the head of the household in
which such child resides shall be deemed to be the owner of such dog
or cat for all purposes of this article. If a dog is not licensed,
the term "owner" shall designate and cover any person or persons,
firm, association or corporation who or which at any time owns or
has custody or control of, harbors or is otherwise responsible for
any dog which is kept in, brought into or comes within the City. Any
person owning or harboring a dog for a period of one week prior to
the filing of any complaint charging a violation of this article shall
be held and deemed to be the owner of such dog for the purpose of
this article.
A fence of at least six feet in height or other structure,
such as a pen, forming or causing an enclosed area suitable to prevent
the entry of young children or any part of their bodies and suitable
to confine dangerous dogs, in conjunction with other measures which
may be taken by the owner or keeper, such as the tethering of the
dangerous dog. Such other structures shall be securely enclosed and
locked and designed with secure sides, top and bottom and shall be
designed to prevent the animal from escaping therefrom. If the pen
or other structure has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides shall
be embedded into the ground no less than one foot.
A.
No dog shall be permitted to be at large or allowed to run at large
within the City, except that a dog may be upon the private property
or premises of another only with the knowledge, consent and approval
of the owner of such premises, and further excepting that a dog duly
licensed and wearing a collar and license as required by Article 7
of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the state may be upon a public
way or public recreation area, provided that such dog is leashed by
a leash not exceeding eight feet in length and is then and there under
the custody and control of the owner or other competent person accompanying
the dog who shall be required to make proper and immediate disposal
of any pet excrement.
B.
No person who owns or has control of a dog or cat shall permit or
suffer such dog or cat to damage or destroy property of any kind of
another person, to attack or bite any person peaceably conducting
himself in any place where such person may lawfully be or to attack,
chase, injure or kill any domestic animal or dog or cat or another
person when such animal is in any place where it may lawfully be;
for the purposes hereof, when any dog or cat is at large contrary
to the provisions of this article and commits any such acts, the owner
or person in control shall be deemed to have permitted or suffered
the dog or cat to have committed such acts.
C.
No person shall keep, suffer or permit to be kept on the premises
of the owner or person having control of such dog any dog which by
its continual barking, howling or whining or other frequent or long-continued
noise shall unreasonably disturb the comfort or repose of any other
person.
D.
No person who owns a dog or cat shall permit the premises, structure
or enclosure in which such dog or cat is kept to be unclean or unsanitary.
Failure to provide adequate food, water or space shall subject said
dogs or cats to seizure and confinement. "Adequate" shall mean sufficient
for age, size and number of dogs on the premises.
A.
All dogs harbored in the City of Jamestown shall be licensed with
the City Clerk/Treasurer by the age of four months and shall present
a current certificate of rabies and a spaying/neutering certificate,
if applicable at the time of making application for a license or for
the renewal of an existing license.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No.
1-2020]
B.
All dog licenses shall be valid for a period of one year and shall
expire at the end of the month one year from the date of issuance.
C.
The license fee for a spayed or neutered dog shall be $15, which
fee includes the assessment of a surcharge of $1 for the purpose of
the carrying out of a program of animal population control. The license
fee for an unspayed or unneutered dog shall be $22, which fee includes
the assessment of a surcharge of $3 for the purpose of the carrying
out of a program of animal population control. Replacement tag fees
shall be $3.
D.
The City of Jamestown shall not issue purebred or kennel licenses.
All dogs shall be licensed individually in accordance with the fees
stated.
E.
The City of Jamestown does not allow the licensing of dogs by a shelter.
The shelter must send the adoptive dog owners to the Town or City
Clerk in which the dog will be harbored for licensing.
F.
All dog licenses shall be purchased in person at the City Hall or
by regular mail. If licensing or renewing a license by mail, the appropriate
fee shall accompany the forms. There shall be no refund of fees.
No person shall hinder, resist or oppose the Animal Control
Officer or police officer authorized to administer or enforce the
provisions of this article in the performance of the officer's
duties.
A.
The Animal Control Officer or any police officer shall seize any dog found to be in violation of the applicable provisions of this article or in violation of the applicable provisions of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of this state, and such dog shall be impounded, redeemed, euthanized or sold as provided in § 117 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of this state or Title 10, Chapter I, Part 2, § 2, of the New York State Sanitary Code, and the owner of such dog shall pay the costs of seizure and impoundment as therein provided. The Animal Control Officer or any police officer shall make a record of the matter. The record shall include date of pick up, breed, general description, sex, identification numbers, time of pickup, location of release and name and address of owner, if any.
The owner of any dog or cat which has attacked or injured another
person or animal contrary to the provisions of this article shall
confine such dog or cat for such length of time as may be directed
by the Animal Control Officer or other appropriate authority for the
purpose of determining whether such dog or cat is affected by rabies,
and if so affected, such dog or cat shall be destroyed under the direction
of the Animal Control Officer or other appropriate authority.
The owner of any dangerous dog as defined in § 125-3 of this Code shall not thereafter permit such dog to be at any place other than on the premises of the owner unless such dog is securely fitted with a properly fitting muzzle of a type which shall not permit such dog to bite another person or animal, collar and leash. Such leash shall have a maximum length of four feet, and both leash and collar shall have a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds. It shall be unlawful at all times thereafter to allow said dog to leave the owner's home or a secure enclosure as defined in § 125-3 of this Code upon the owner's property unless said dog is muzzled, collared and tethered and under the control of a person at least 18 years of age.
Except as otherwise provided in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, any violation of this article shall be deemed an offense punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties, except that any violation of § 125-7 of this article shall be deemed a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or confinement in jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each separate offense or misdemeanor, as the case may be, shall constitute a separate violation. The provisions hereof are in addition to the regulations, restrictions, requirements and penalties contained in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York.
The Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety is hereby charged
with the duty of enforcing this article, and the police officers and
Animal Control Officer shall be authorized to issue such process as
is necessary to bring violators before the court upon being satisfied
that the person to whom such process is issued is in fact the person
chargeable with the violation.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No.
1-2020]
There shall be no fee for any license issued for any guide dog,
hearing dog, service dog, war dog or police work dog. Each copy of
any license for such dogs shall be conspicuously marked "guide dog,"
"hearing dog," "service dog," "war dog" or "police work dog" as may
be appropriate by the City Clerk/Treasurer or other authorized licensing
officer.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No.
1-2020]
All local dog license fees collected by the City Clerk/Treasurer
pursuant to the provisions and this article shall be the property
of the City of Jamestown, and said fees shall be used solely for the
purposes of controlling dogs and enforcing the provisions of Article
7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York and
any rule, regulation, local law or ordinance adopted pursuant thereto,
including subsidizing the spaying or neutering of dogs in any facility
as authorized under § 116 of Article 7 of the Agriculture
and Markets Law of the State of New York and subsidizing public humane
education programs in responsible dog ownership.
The owner or harborer of any dog so destroyed under the provisions
of this article, whether destroyed by an animal control officer or
police officer or released to an authorized humane society or veterinarian,
shall not be entitled to any compensation, and no action shall be
maintainable thereafter to recover the value of such dog or any other
type of damage.
