(A) Impounding animals running at large and unlicensed animals. Any dog, cat or other animal found running at large, as set forth in § 616.02, or a dog or cat for which the annual license fee has not been paid, as provided in division (b) of this section, shall be impounded by the Police Department.
(1) Notice of impoundment. The animal control officer, or such other person as may from time to time be designated, shall immediately upon receiving or impounding any animal make a complete registry, entering the breed, color, and gender of such animal and whether licensed or not. If licensed or chipped, the animal control officer shall include the main address of the owner and the number of the license tag if known and shall give notice forthwith to the owner informing him or her of the impounding of the animal. The animal control officer shall make every reasonable attempt to contact the owner as soon as possible. The animal control officer shall give notice of not less than seven calendar days to the owner, if known, prior to the transfer of the animal to a no-kill shelter. Such notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the owner if available. Testimony of the animal control officer, or his authorized agent, who mails such notice shall be evidence of the receipt of such notice by the owner of the animal.
(2) Redemption of impounded licensed animals. When any licensed animal is impounded as provided for in this chapter, it may be redeemed by its owner upon payment of all applicable fees, penalties and costs as set forth in this Code, including a fee equal to the cost per day to board and care for such animal for each day the animal has been impounded. If such animal is not redeemed by the owner within seven calendar days after the notice of impoundment is sent to the owner, the animal control officer shall transfer the animal to a no-kill shelter.
(3) Redemption of impounded unlicensed animals. Every animal that is impounded as provided for in this chapter, for which no license or identification has been obtained, shall be held for four calendar days before being transferred to a no-kill shelter. Any person desiring to redeem an animal so impounded may do so by paying the applicable fees, penalties and costs as set forth in § 616.99, plus the license fee for the current license year and a reasonable fee to cover the cost of housing and feeding such animal. No such animal shall be released without being neutered/spayed and chipped or without a written agreement from the person desiring to redeem the animal. The agreement will state that the animal will be neutered/spayed and chipped, and, if applicable, the animal shall also be inoculated for rabies. Vaccination and other veterinary costs may be assessed to the person redeeming the animal.
(4) Redemption of dangerous animals. In the case of an animal that has been determined to be dangerous, as defined in § 616.01, the animal may not be redeemed unless the owner supplies proof that such animal will not thereafter be kept or housed in the city, including the exact location where such animal will be kept so that the city may provide the applicable governmental authorities with notice of the animal's new location and the city's dangerous dog declaration (referenced in § 616.04).
(5) Injured animals. Any injured animal which has been impounded may be given medical treatment or if deemed seriously ill or injured by an animal officer certified by the National Animal Control Association or a licensed Illinois veterinarian may be humanely dispatched by and under the direction of a licensed Illinois veterinarian or an animal officer certified by the National Animal Control Association in accordance with applicable law. The fee or charges for such veterinary services shall be deemed to be and shall be included as a cost and expense incurred in the impoundment of such animal.
(6) Adoption. The city and its agents and contractors shall make a good faith effort to place any unredeemed animal with an appropriate individual or individuals for adoption or with a humane society or other agency which has, as one of its primary purposes, the placement of animals for adoption. Such agencies shall be licensed as required by state and/or local law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any unredeemed or unlicensed animal which has been examined by a licensed veterinarian or an animal officer certified by the National Animal Control Association and found by same to be seriously ill or injured or dangerous may be immediately euthanized.
(B) License tax; tags. Every person who owns, keeps or harbors a dog or cat in the city shall register the same with the City Collector and pay to the Collector annually, or upon acquiring a dog or cat not previously registered, an annual license fee of $10 per animal. The owner of any cat or dog not registered with the city shall be fined no less than $75 for each animal impounded by the city for any purpose.
(1) The Collector shall not issue a license for a dog or cat until the owner or keeper thereof produces satisfactory evidence to the Collector that the dog or cat has been vaccinated against rabies by a qualified veterinarian within the preceding 12 months.
(2) The Collector shall provide, each year to each person paying the tax, a metal tag for each dog or cat for which the license tax has been paid, the tag to be stamped with the letters “B.D.T.” and the number of the license. Every person keeping or harboring a dog or cat so licensed shall maintain a collar around the neck of the dog or cat with the metal tag securely fastened thereto. Every dog or cat not bearing the tag required by this section shall be impounded by the Chief of Police and dealt with as provided in division (A) hereof, and the owner thereof shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 616.99.
(C) Impoundment of animals that bite. The owner or person having custody of a dog or cat which bites a person or domestic animal shall keep the dog or cat locked up in an enclosure for a period of two weeks following the time the dog or cat has bitten the person. The owner or person having custody shall also immediately notify the Board of Health and the Police Department of the incident and shall have the dog or cat examined by a physician or a licensed veterinarian at the commencement and termination of the two-week period. If the dog or cat dies or shows definite signs of illness during the period, the owner or person having custody of the dog or cat shall turn the dog or cat over to the Chief of Police so that it can be determined whether or not the dog or cat has rabies. A dog determined to be dangerous pursuant to § 616.04 shall not be released to the owner or person having custody of the dog unless the owner has proof that the dangerous dog will not be kept or housed in the city, including giving the exact location where the dangerous dog will be kept such that the city can give the applicable governmental authorities notice of the dog’s new location and the city dangerous dog declaration.
(D) Quarantine. The Mayor may publish a notice in a newspaper in which official notices of the city are customarily published, and, at his or her discretion, may post notices at public places, forbidding the running at large of a specific dog or cat in the city at any period whenever in his or her opinion the public safety is in danger from the cause, unless the dog or cat is securely muzzled, or prohibiting the running at large of any dog or cat. Upon the publication of the notice, no dog or cat shall run at large in violation of the notice. A dog or cat found running at large in violation of the notice may be killed by a police officer.
(E) Number permitted. No person shall keep or harbor, in the city, more than three dogs or cats over two months old on any premises occupied by one family or more. Different parties living on the same premises or in the same building, or using the same premises, shall not keep or harbor thereon more than three dogs or cats.
(F) Urination and defecation on public and private property. No person, being the owner or having control of a dog or cat being walked with or without a leash, shall allow the dog or cat to urinate or defecate on any property other than that of the person and the animal feces shall immediately be cleaned from the place of deposit. No person shall allow a dog or cat to defecate on any property other than that of the person or on a public street, alley, ground, parkway, thoroughfare, lot or other public property, without immediately removing the defecation and cleaning the animal feces from the place of deposit and restoring the place to its condition before the defecation.
(G) Dog runs.
(1) No person shall construct, cause to be constructed or utilize on property within the city what is commonly known as a “dog run” (or is otherwise a fenced-in structure or space within the property that restricts movement of dogs to a specific area and not the entire lot), without first obtaining necessary permits to construct the same and without first complying with the following requirements.
(a) Any dog run or any part thereof that is constructed within three feet of a property lot line shall be constructed with a solid, non-open fence made of materials designed to protect adjoining properties from animal waste. This applies to the fence closest to the neighboring property, which shall be additionally constructed to insure that the dog does not escape onto adjoining property.
(b) All fences shall be constructed under a permit and in conformity with the provisions of Chapter 1272 of the Planning and Zoning Code of the city.
(c) The ground and/or floor of the dog run shall be pitched toward the property owner’s property and not pitched in any fashion that would allow for leakage or run-off onto neighboring property.
(2) The construction of a dog run in conformity with the provisions of this division does not in any way exempt the property owner from the other provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to those involving proper removal of animal waste.
(Ord. 07-55, passed 10-23-2007; Ord. 10-14, passed 3-9-2010; Ord. 10-25, passed 4-27-2010; Ord. 24-10, passed 5-14-2024)