(A) Running at large prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person, or the parents or the guardians of any such person under 18 years of age, who owns, harbors, or keeps a dog or cat, to allow the dog or cat to run at large. Dogs or cats must be restrained by a responsible person and shall be permitted on streets, sidewalks, trails or on other public land unless the city has posted an area with signs reading “Dogs or Cats Prohibited.”
(B) Animals per residence. It shall be unlawful for any owner residing on less than two acres to possess or maintain more than three animals, dogs/cats or any combination thereof, over the age of 90 days at his, her or their residence or any single unit of occupancy within city limits.
(C) License required.
(1) All dogs/cats over the age of four months kept, harbored, or maintained by their owners in the city, shall be licensed and registered with the city. Animal licenses shall be issued by the city upon payment of the annual license fee. The annual license fee shall be set in the Fee Schedule Ordinance on file in the city offices. The owner shall state, at the time application is made for the license and upon forms provided for such purpose, his or her name and address and the name, breed, color, and sex of each dog/cat owned or kept by him or her. No license shall be granted for a dog/cat which has not been vaccinated against rabies, as provided in this section. Vaccination shall be performed only by a doctor qualified to practice veterinary medicine in the state in which the dog/cat is vaccinated. A veterinarian who vaccinates a dog/cat to be licensed in the city shall complete a certificate of vaccination. One copy shall be issued to the dog/cat owner for affixing to the license application. An applicant for a license for a neutered dog/cat shall sign an affidavit indicating that the dog/cat has been neutered and shall give the date of the operation.
(2) It shall be the duty of each owner of a dog/cat subject to this section to pay to the city the license fee as set forth in the Fee Schedule Ordinance on file in the city offices.
(3) Upon payment of the license fee, the city shall issue to the owner a license certificate and metallic tag for each dog/cat licensed. The tag shall have stamped the number corresponding with the number on the certificate. Every owner shall be required to provide each dog/cat with a collar to which the license tag must be affixed, and shall see that the collar and tag are constantly worn. In case an animal tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate shall be issued by the city upon the presentation of a receipt showing the payment of the license fee, as set forth in the Fee Schedule Ordinance on file in the city offices, for the then current license year and after payment by the applicant of the fee as set forth in the Fee Schedule Ordinance for issuance of the duplicate license. Animal tags shall not be transferable from one dog/cat to another and no refunds shall be made on any animal license fee or tag because of death of a dog/cat or the owner's leaving the city before the expiration of the license period. It is unlawful to counterfeit or attempt to counterfeit tags provided for herein, or to take from any dog/cat a tag legally placed upon it by its owner with the intention of placing it upon another dog/cat.
(4) The licensing provisions of this division shall not apply to dogs/cats whose owners are non-residents temporarily within the city (not more than 30 days), nor to dogs/cats brought into the city for the purpose of participating in any dog/cat show. Further, this provision shall not apply to “seeing eye” dogs properly trained for the purpose of providing service to persons with disabilities to aid them in going from place to place provided that a certification of assistance training from a recognized school or program is submitted with the license application.
(5) The funds received by the city from all animal licenses and metallic tags shall first be used to defray any costs incidental to the enforcement of this section; including, but not restricted to, the costs of licenses, metallic tags, and impounding and maintenance of the dogs/cats.
(6) Any dogs/cats brought into the city must be properly licensed within 30 days of having been moved into the city.
(D) Cats. Cats shall be included as controlled by this section insofar as licensing, running-at-large, pickup, impounding, boarding and proof of vaccine is concerned. All other provisions of this section, shall also apply to cats unless otherwise provided.
(E) Vaccination.
(1) All dogs and cats kept harbored, maintained, or transported within the city shall be properly immunized by a licensed veterinarian for:
Rabies | A properly administered vaccine by a licensed veterinarian with a documented expiration date |
(2) A certificate of vaccination must be kept, on which is stated the date of vaccination, owner's name and address, the animal's name (if applicable), sex, description and weight, the type of vaccine, and the veterinarian's signature. Upon demand made by the Enforcement Officer, the owner shall present for examination the required certificate(s) of vaccination for the animal(s). In cases where certificates are not presented, the owner or keeper of the animal(s) shall have seven days in which to present the certificate(s) to the city. Failure to do so shall be deemed a violation of this section.
(3) Any animal covered by this subdivision found off the owner's premises and not wearing a valid rabies vaccination tag shall be impounded. Any unvaccinated animal that is so impounded may be reclaimed by its owner by payment of the prescribed pound fees and compliance with the rabies vaccination requirement of this section, proof of which shall be furnished to the city within 72 hours of its release from the pound.
Penalty, see § 92.99
Editor’s note:
For any fees or costs associated with a licenses, see the ordinance adopting a schedule of fines and fees on file in the city offices.