(A) All animals shall be kept under restraint or within a secured enclosure, and no animal shall be permitted to run at large in the city. No owner shall fail to exercise proper care and control of his or her animals in order to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance, and the owner of every animal shall be held responsible for every action of the animal under provisions of this chapter and state law.
(B) No dog shall be permitted to bark excessively so as to disturb the owner's neighbors or cause a public nuisance.
(C) When any animal is found running at large and its ownership is verified by the Animal Control Officer or a city police officer, the officer may exercise the option of serving the owner with a violation citation in lieu of impounding the animal.
(D) In the event that an animal has been identified as belonging to an individual and reasonable effort has been made to contact the owner for purposes of confinement and/or issuance of citations, where no contact was made, the officer may issue a citation without the signature of the legal owner. A copy shall be mailed to the residence by U.S. certified mail, return receipt requested. The mailing of the notice as provided herein shall constitute notice to the legal owner for all purposes.
(E) A person commits an offense if he or she fails or refuses to restrain any animal of which he or she is the owner, or if he or she permits the animal to cause a nuisance.
(Ord. 09-1013, passed 10-13-2009) Penalty, see § 90.999