(A) Vaccination and license required; exemptions.
(1) The owner of a dog shall have the dog vaccinated against rabies by a veterinarian or other authorized person every calendar year before January 1 thereof or, in the case of a pup, before he is three months old. The person vaccinating the dog shall furnish the owner a certificate of vaccination.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any owner to keep or cause to be kept within the territorial limits of the town any dog over three months old without first causing the dog to be vaccinated for rabies, presenting a valid certificate of said vaccination to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer and obtaining a license for the keeping of said dog within the town. The owner of the dog shall, at the time of obtaining the license, register the dog by giving to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer the name and address of the owner, the name, breed, color and sex of the dog and such other reasonable information as the town’s Clerk- Treasurer may request.
(3) The licensing requirement shall not apply to a dog only temporarily brought and kept within the town, nor to a dog brought within the town to participate in a dog show, nor to a guide dog when such dog is actually being used by a person with disabilities to aid him or her in going from place to place, nor to dogs being kept in kennels or pet shops for sale.
(B) License fee. There is hereby levied and assessed upon each dog kept or owned within the town an annual license fee of $3 due and payable on January 1 of each year, and it is hereby made the duty of the owner of any dog to pay to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer or her duly authorized agent the said license fee on or before January 1 of each year.
(C) License tag.
(1) Required.
(a) Upon the payment of the license fee, the town’s Clerk-Treasurer or her duly authorized agent shall furnish the owner of said dog or dogs with a tag on which is stamped the number of registration with the year for which the license is paid, which tag the owner shall attach to a collar securely fastened around the neck of the dog, and no dog shall be allowed without the proper tag attached to the collar around the neck of said dog.
(b) In no event shall the town’s Clerk-Treasurer or his or her duly authorized agent issue a license tag to any owner of a dog unless and until such owner shall furnish a vaccination certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian stating that such dog or dogs have been vaccinated by him or her against rabies.
(c) The owner shall cause the tag received from the town’s Clerk-Treasurer to be affixed to the collar of the dog upon which the fee has been paid so that the tag can easily be seen by officers of the town, and the owner shall see that the tag is so worn by the dog at all times.
(2) Replacement tags. In case the tag is lost before the end of the year for which it is issued, the owner may secure another for the dog by applying to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer, presenting to him or her the original receipt and paying to him or her a fee of $3.
(3) Counterfeit tags, use of other tags prohibited. No person shall counterfeit, or attempt to counterfeit, any tag issued for a dog as provided in this division (C), or take from any dog a tag legally placed thereon, or place such tag upon a dog for which the tag was not specifically issued.
(D) Unlicensed dog suspects; inspections authorized.
(1) If the authorized agent of the town or other officer has reason to believe that there is an unvaccinated or unlicensed dog within the town located on private property, such officer shall first request permission of the person in control of said property to enter upon such property for the purpose of inspection to determine if such a violation of this section exists.
(2) If permission is refused, such officer shall then obtain a search warrant from the Municipal Judge or other judge or magistrate for the purpose of entering upon such property for determining if said dog is licensed and vaccinated.
(Prior Code, § 6-3-6-1) Penalty, see § 91.99