The following prohibitions shall apply and be enforceable in the town.
(A) It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow, suffer, or permit an animal to be at large within the
town; except, that it shall be permissible during hunting season prescribed by state law for hunting dogs to be allowed to hunt with their owners on private property when permission has been obtained from the owner of the real estate and to hunt on state lands where allowed.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to hinder, molest, or interfere with any authorized official in the performance of any duty described in this chapter.
(C) It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to permit the animal to be a public nuisance within the town. Furthermore, it shall be unlawful for any owner of any animal to recklessly or carelessly fail to exercise control over the animal in such a way that the animal is a public nuisance.
(D) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, or harbor a dangerous dog or wild animal within the town; provided, this section shall not apply to animals under the control of a law enforcement or military agency. For the purpose of this chapter, an animal may be declared dangerous by the Department of Animal Services.
(E) No persons owning, harboring, or having the care of a dangerous animals shall permit such animal to go unconfined on the premises of such person. A dangerous animal is UNCONFINED as the term is used in this section if such animal is not:
(1) Confined indoors; or
(2) Confined outdoors in an enclosed and locked pen or structure upon the premises of the person described above; provided, the existence of a such pen or structure is permitted by zoning regulations. Maintenance of a dangerous animal is not permitted in areas where such structures or pens are not authorized by the zoning regulations. If permitted, such pen or structure shall be as follows:
Size of Animal | Square Feet of Pen |
Extra large (over 26 inches at withers or over 75 lbs.) | 48 |
Large (over 20 inches and up to 26 inches at withers or not over 75 lbs.) | 40 |
Medium (over 12 inches and up to 20 inches at withers or not over 50 lbs.) | 32 |
Small (12 inches or less at withers or not over 20 lbs.) | 24 |
(F) (1) The pen must be constructed with chain link fencing for all four sides and the top. If the pen or structure has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be imbedded in the ground no less than one foot or have a concrete pad for the bottom. The pen structure shall be set back at least ten feet from the nearest property line.
(2) No potentially dangerous dog shall be chained, tethered, or otherwise tied to any inanimate object, such as a tree or post of a building that is outside its proper enclosure while unattended by the owner or competent custodian.
(3) The owner of any potentially dangerous animal shall consent to periodic inspections by the Department of Animal Services.
(4) The owner of any potentially dangerous dog shall have such a dog permanently identified by means of microchip at th owner’s and the owner of any potentially dangerous dog shall provide the Department of Animal Service with a color photograph of the dog taken within 12 months, suitable for use in identifying the dog.
(C) Any potentially dangerous dog, which has escaped from its fenced enclosure may be impounded by the Department of Animal Service, whether or not it has been returned to its enclosure at the time of impoundment. If impoundment pursuant to this division (F) occurs, the animal shall not be returned to person responsible for it.
(G) It is unlawful to deprive any animal of necessary food, drink, or shelter or expose to the elements of the weather and to the extremes of heat or cold, or refuse to obtain veterinary care for illness, injury, disease, or infirmity, or willfully instigate, engaged in, or in any way further an act of cruelty to any animal, or any act to produce such cruelty. All animals, where kept in a pen, tied, fastened, hitched, leashed, or enclosed by a fence shall be kept in a sanitary manner.
(G) A violation of this section shall subject the violator to a civil fine of not less than the amount designated § 91.99. Additionally, upon the third violation of this chapter, the animal shall be seized and impounded. If such ordinance violation results in the dog causing severe injury to any person, the court may, upon request after hearing, order the animal forfeited and/or destroyed.
(H) Any potentially dangerous dog found at large or not confined as required by this chapter may be captured, impounded, and it may be returned to its owner only if the enforcement authority, in its discretion, determines that such return will not result in further or ongoing violations of this chapter. If such determination cannot be made, or if the dog’s action have caused severe injury, the enforcement officer shall apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order to dispose of the animal.
(Ord. 2022-03, passed 6-6-2022) Penalty, see § 91.99