(a) Definitions. The term “dog” means all members of the canine family, of either sex and at least six months of age, unless otherwise specified in this section.
(b) License Required. Every person owning, maintaining or harboring a dog in the City shall obtain a license for such dog in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) Application; issuance; tag; certificate.
(1) Every person owning, maintaining or harboring a dog in the City shall apply to the Assessor of Mineral County for a license for each dog so owned, maintained or harbored and such applications shall show whether such dog is male or female.
(2) The official tag so issued by the Assessor shall be fastened to the collar to the dog so licensed; in addition thereto said dog shall have first obtained a certificate or tag from a registered profession veterinarian to the effect that the dog for which a license is applied has been duly and properly inoculated for rabies.
Section 13-1-14 is hereby revoked and repelled.
Section 13-1-7 is hereby revoked and repelled.
Section 13-1-8 is hereby revoked and repelled.
Section 13-1-13 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(d) Unlawful Attaching or Removal of License Tag. No person shall attach a license tag to any dog to which it was not issued, or remove a license tag from the collar of any dog without the consent of its owner.
(e) License Exemptions. All seeing eye dogs are exempted from the licensing provisions of this section.
(f) Equipment. The City Clerk, subject to the approval of Council, shall acquire such equipment as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this section.
(g) Interfering with Humane Officer. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with the Humane Officer or any other person authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
(h) Enticing; Seizing or Molesting; Impounding or Killing. Except for persons duly authorized by this article, no person shall entice any properly licensed dog into any enclosure for the purpose of taking off his collar or tag, or, for such purpose, decoy or entice any dog out of the enclosure or house of its owner or possessor, or seize or molest any dog which is held or led by any person, or bring any dog into the City for the purpose of impounding and killing the same.
(i) Inducing to Fight; Frightening Persons. No person shall entice, induce, urge or cause any dog to engage in or prolong a fight in the City, and no person shall induce or cause any dog to run after, bark at, frighten or bite any person or animal lawfully passing along or standing in or on any street or highway in the City.
(j) Vicious dogs. No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog, known by him to be vicious, dangerous or in the habit of biting or attacking persons, whether or not such dogs wear a tag or muzzle and, upon satisfactory proof that such dog is vicious, dangerous or in the habit of biting or attacking persons the Chief of Police or any other police officer, or the County Humane Officers may cause such dog to be impounded and disposed of.
(k) Noise Dogs. No person shall own or keep within the City any dog which shall, by barking, howling, squalling, crying or in any other manner, disturb and the comfort or quiet of any neighborhood.
(l) Muzzling Dogs. Whenever it appears to the Mayor or Municipal Court Judge that there is good reasons for believing that any dog within the City is rabid, it may issue a proclamation requiring that all dogs shall, for a period to be defined in the proclamation, wear good, substantial muzzles, securely put on, so as to prevent them from biting or snapping, and any dog at large during the period defined by the Mayor or Municipal Court Judge without such muzzle, shall be taken by the Humane Officer and impounded.
(m) Bites; Impounding. Any dog, whether licensed or not, that has bitten any person shall be seized by the Humane Officer or any police officer and impounded for a period of ten days for observation to determine whether such dog has rabies. The Humane Officer is authorized to secure the services of any registered professional veterinarian, doctor or qualified laboratory to determine whether or not such dog has rabies. In the event it should be ascertained that the dog has rabies, then the Humane Officer is authorized to cause such dog to be disposed of. The owner of such dog shall be required to pay the expense of maintaining such dog for such period of time at the rate of $5.00 per day and, in addition thereto, such reasonable fee or charges as may be made to ascertain whether or not the dog had rabies. In the event the impounded dog is found to be free of rabies, such dog shall be returned to the owner upon the payment of the fees herein provided.
(n) Cooperation with Other Governmental Bodies. In carrying out the intent and provisions of this article, the City is expressly authorized to enter into agreements with Municipalities and the County Commission for the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies, employment of necessary personnel, operation and maintenance of a dog pound, and all other matters relating to the provisions of this article and to share the cost thereof with other municipalities and the County Commission on a joint and mutual basis.
(o) Running at Large; Confinement; on Leash; Impounding: Defecation.
(1) No dog, whether wearing a license tag or not, shall be permitted to run at large within the City at any time except on the property owned or occupied by the owner of the dog. Any dog found running at large in violation of this section shall be seized by the Humane Officer and forthwith impounded.
(2) The owner of a dog or person harboring or keeping a dog shall not allow such dog to roam at large in the City whether a license tag or not. The owner of a dog or the person harboring or keeping a dog shall confine such dog at the owner’s premises or at the premises of such person harboring or keeping the dog. No person shall take any dog onto the streets or sidewalks of the City unless the dog shall be on a leash, or under effective control.
(3) No person taking a dog upon the streets and sidewalks of the City or other public place shall allow the dog to defecate upon the streets or sidewalks of the City, or other public property located in the City or private property other than that of the owner or owners, and to allow a dog to so defecate shall be a violation of this section and punishable as hereinafter described in this section.
(p) Penalty.
(1) Whoever violates subsections (g), (i), (k) or (o) shall be fined as follows:
A. For the first offense | $25.00 |
B. For the second offense within a period of one year | 40.00 |
C. For the third offense within a period of one year | 100.00 |
D. For the fourth offense within a period of one year | 300.00 |
(2) The Humane Officer, any member of the City Police Department or an aggrieved individual, may cause a warrant to be issued from the Police Court to the dog owner or to the person harboring or keeping the dog for appearance before the Police Court.
(Ord. 216. Passed 10-16-85.)