(A) Running at large.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any owner or any person in control of any dog or cat to permit, or cause to be permitted, his or her dog or cat to run at large in the village at any time, or to fail to use reasonable care in restraining any dog or cat that he or she keeps, harbors or otherwise maintains, or that is under his or her control, from running at large.
(2) Any dog or cat found running at large is declared hereby to be a public nuisance and may be apprehended and impounded by any police officer or the animal control officer.
(3) A dog found by the Hearing Officer or the court having jurisdiction to be in violation of division (A)(1) above must be microchipped at the owner’s expense, if not already microchipped, within 30 days after being reclaimed.
(4) A dog found by the Hearing Officer or the court having jurisdiction to be in violation of division (A)(1) above a second time must be altered at the owner’s expense, if not already altered, within 30 days after being reclaimed.
(B) Biting and attacking.
(1) It shall be unlawful for an owner or any other person in control of any domestic animal to allow the domestic animal to bite or attack any other domestic animal or person in the village. If a person is bitten by a domestic animal, the incident shall be reported to the Police Department immediately. All reports of bites or attacks shall be investigated by the Police Department in accordance with this chapter.
(2) Any domestic animal that bites or attacks any other domestic animal or person in the village after the domestic animal has been found in violation of division (B)(1) above by the Hearing Officer or the court having jurisdiction, is declared hereby to be a public nuisance and may be apprehended and impounded at any time by a police officer or the animal control officer. The impoundment may, at the discretion of the Chief of Police, continue through any subsequent investigation by the Police Department and until any subsequent determination of the Hearing Officer or the court having jurisdiction.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of division (B)(1) above, service dogs and police dogs shall not be declared public nuisances pursuant to division (B)(2) above if the behavior that would provide the basis for a declaration of public nuisance occurred while the dog was performing its duties as expected.
(C) Disturbing peace or quiet.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, possess or harbor any animal that, by habitual and continuous barking, howling, yelping, bawling or other loud noise, annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, health, peace, repose and/or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities within the corporate limits of the village.
(2) Any dog that subsequently disturbs the peace or quiet after the dog has been found in violation of division (C)(1) above by the Hearing Officer or the court having jurisdiction, is declared hereby to be a public nuisance and may be apprehended and impounded at any time by a police officer or the animal control officer.
(3) Upon finding a violation of division (C)(1) above, the Hearing Officer or court having jurisdiction may, in addition to the payment of the penalties provided under this chapter, order the person to take sufficient action to immediately abate the nuisance.
(D) Dangerous behavior.
(1) It shall be unlawful for an owner to allow a dog to behave in a dangerous manner.
(2) For purposes of this chapter, a dog behaves in a dangerous manner when the dog:
(a) Unprovoked bites or injures a person or a domestic animal on public or private property;
(b) Unprovoked, chases or approaches a person or a domestic animal upon the streets, sidewalks or any public or private property in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack; or
(c) Otherwise behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses a serious, unjustified and imminent threat of physical injury or death to a person or a domestic animal.
(3) However, a dog shall not be considered to behave in a dangerous manner when the behavior occurred because:
(a) The threatened or injured person was committing or attempting to commit a violent crime against the owner or custodian of the dog or member of its household;
(b) The threatened or injured person was committing or attempting to commit a crime against the property of the owner or custodian of the dog, including, without limitation, burglary, arson or criminal trespass;
(c) The threatened or injured person was tormenting, abusing, assaulting or physically threatening the dog or its offspring;
(d) The threatened or injured domestic animal was attacking or threatening to attack the dog or its offspring;
(e) The dog was responding to inflicted pain or injury;
(f) The dog was protecting itself or its offspring; or
(g) The dog is a service dog or a police dog and was performing its duties as expected.
(E) Failure to remove excrement.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to have in his or her immediate possession some means for the removal of animal excrement when causing a dog or other animal to be on the public right-of-way, on any property under the ownership or control of the village, or on any private property without the express consent of the owner or lawful occupant of the property.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any reason to fail to remove any excrement of a dog or other animal under that person’s control from the public right of way, from any property under the ownership or control of the village, or from any private property without the express consent of the owner or lawful occupant of the property.
(Ord. 4154, passed 4-30-2012) Penalty, see § 92.99