(A) No person shall own, keep, or harbor any dog within the city unless the dog is licensed as herein provided. Written application for a license shall be made to the city Tax Collector and shall state the name, address, and telephone number of the owner and the name, breed, color, sex, and distinguishing marks of the dog. The license fee shall be paid to the city Tax Collector at the time of making the application. The city Tax Collector shall transmit to the Police Department all registration forms after all fees have been paid. The Police Department shall keep all registration forms for a three-year period open to public inspection at regular city business hours. The records shall be filed alphabetically by name of dog owner and numerically by Stanly County dog tax tag number.
(B) The yearly license fees shall be $2 for male dog or spayed female dog and $2 for an unspayed female dog.
(C) All dog licenses shall be issued for one year beginning with January 1. The owner may apply for the license during January without penalty for the delay, but when an application which should have been made by January 1 is not made until after January 31, the appropriate license fee shall be increased by 50%. However, if the applicant became the owner of the dog after January 1, the license fee may be prorated to the nearest quarter and the penalty for delinquency shall be added 30 days after the date when the license should have been procured.
(D) If ownership of a dog is transferred, the new owner may have the current license transferred to his name on payment of a fee of $1.
(E) The owner shall keep on the dog, at all times when the dog is not inside a private building, a collar or harness, and the tag issued by the Stanly County Tax Collector shall be affixed to the collar or harness in such a manner that the tag can be easily seen.
(F) No person shall use for any dog a tag issued for a different dog.
(G) If a license is destroyed or lost, a duplicate or replacement shall be obtained from the Stanly County Tax Collector and the Police Department shall be notified of the new number.
(H) A violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor.
(Ord. 19-27, passed 8-5-19; Am. Ord. 22-01, passed 1-3-22) Penalty, see § 10.99