It shall be unlawful for any person, except
the owner or custodian, to remove a legally acquired license tag from
a dog.
It shall be unlawful for any person to conceal
or harbor any dog on which the license tax has not been paid, or to
conceal a mad dog to keep the same from being killed after being so
ordered by the court system.
It shall constitute a nuisance and be unlawful
if any animal barks, whines, howls, bays, cries or makes any other
noise excessively so as to cause annoyance, disturbance or discomfort
to any individual, provided that such noise lasts for a period of
more than 10 minutes continuously or intermittent noise continues
for more than 1/2 hour and is plainly audible from a distance of 50
feet or more from the premises where the animal is kept. It shall
not be a violation of this section if the animal was barking, crying,
or making any other noise due to harassment or injury to the animal
or a trespass upon the premises where the animal is located. A violation
of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor.
A. Enforcement. A summons may be issued directly to the
owner or custodian of any animal found to be in violation of this
section requiring an appearance in the General District Court for
the City.
B. Seizure of animal(s); noise abatement. Any police
officer, animal control officer or other officer charged with enforcement
of this chapter may enter onto private property and seize any animal
found in violation of this section, provided that the following conditions
are met:
(1) There is a verified complaint of noise by a police
officer, animal control officer or other officer and that officer
reasonably believes that the noise meets the criteria set forth in
this section;
(2) The owner or custodian of the animal(s) cannot be
readily located after a reasonable attempt or those attempts have
failed or been ignored;
(3) The seizure will involve forced entry into a private
residence; use of a passkey obtained from a property manager, property
owner, landlord, innkeeper or other person authorized to have such
a key shall not be considered as forced entry;
(4) No other less intrusive means to stop the noise is
available; and
(5) Written notice of the seizure is left in a conspicuous
place if personal contact with the owner or custodian of the animal(s)
is not possible.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog
with a contagious or infectious disease to permit such dog to stray
from his premises if such disease is known to the owner.
Dead animals shall be taken to the City landfill
during working hours or otherwise buried or cremated by the owners.
Failure to properly dispose of an animal within 24 hours after its
death shall be a violation of this article.
Any person who shall make a false statement in order to secure a dog license to which he is not entitled shall be fined not less than $5 nor more than $100. Any person convicted of failure to pay the license tax required by this chapter prior to February 1 of any year, or as otherwise provided in this chapter, on any dog owned by him shall be fined not less than the amount of the license tax required by law to be paid on such dog and shall be required to obtain the proper license forthwith, and, unless the fine and license tax are immediately paid, the General District Court for the City may order the dog killed by the Animal Control Officer or some other officer, but the killing of such dog shall not relieve its owner of the payment of the fine and the license tax already due. If a dog is found running and roaming at large in violation of the provisions of §
115-9 of this chapter, its owner shall be liable to a fine of not less than $5. If a dog is found running and roaming at large in violation of the provisions of §
115-22 of this chapter, its owner shall pay a fine as set by the General District Court for the City. Any other violation of this chapter, for which a specific penalty is not provided, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $300.
The provisions of this chapter and all related
articles shall be enforced by the City Animal Control Officer or by
any other duly authorized persons under the direction of the Chief
of Police and City Manager.