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City of Versailles, MO
Morgan County
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Cross Reference — As to animals at large, §210.780.
The following words, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings set out herein:
DOGS
All animals of the canine species, both male and female.
OWNER OR KEEPER
Any person having a right of property in a dog, or who keeps or harbors a dog, or who has it in his/her care or acts as its custodian, or who knowingly permits a dog to remain on or about any premises owned or occupied by him/her.
RUNNING AT LARGE
Allowing a dog to be off the private premises of the owner or keeper or his/her agent or servant and not on a leash or confined to the arms, motor vehicle, trailer or other conveyance of the owner or keeper, his/her agent or servant.
SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY
Physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes serious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part of the body.
TRESPASSER
A person upon the premises of the owner or keeper of the dog in question without license or privilege to be upon said premises.
UNRESTRAINED DOG
Any dog running at large or a dog on the premises of its owner or keeper but not confined to said premises by a leash, fence, structure or other means that would prevent the dog from leaving such premises.
[Ord. No. 1730 §§1 — 6, 7-9-2007; Ord. No. 1788 §1, 4-13-2010]
A. 
All persons residing with the City limits of Versailles, Missouri (City), owning, controlling, harboring, possessing or having the management or care of a dog or dogs shall be required to have a City license and license tag for such dog or dogs. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to provide a licensing document and a tag for each such dog licensed in the City.
B. 
The City charge for the license and tag shall be the sum of five dollars ($5.00) and shall be issued for the period of one (1) year commencing on the date of the approval of the application and ending one (1) year thereafter; except that the person purchasing the license and tag shall have the option of purchasing the license and tag for a period of one (1), two (2), or three (3) years based upon the due date of their next rabies vaccination, at the current charge of five dollars ($5.00) per year.
[Ord. No. 17-009 §1, 4-4-2017]
C. 
No license or tag shall be issued to any person until such person shall have a certificate of rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian confirming to the satisfaction of the City Clerk that the dog being licensed has its rabies vaccinations as herein required. Such certificate must confirm that the rabies vaccination was administered to the dog being licensed within one (1) year of the date of application for the dog licensed and shall be registered by the City Clerk in the City dog licensing files.
D. 
The owner or keeper of any dog or dogs in the City is hereby required to have a current vaccination against rabies by a licensed veterinarian and to procure a certificate of vaccination from the veterinarian and to present such certificate to the City Clerk upon application for a dog license and tag. The tag shall be securely attached to a collar to be continuously worn by the dog for which the tag was issued.
E. 
Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction therefore be punished as therefore provided in Section 100.220 of the Municipal Code of the City of Versailles, Missouri.
[1]
Editor's Note — Ord. no. 1730 §§1 — 6, adopted July 9, 2007, repealed sections 205.020 "vaccination and tag", 205.025 "tax to be paid", 205.027 "license fee" and enacted new provisions set out in Section 205.020 above. Former sections 205.020 — 205.027 derived from CC 1974 §§245.010, 245.030; ord. no. 939 §§1, 3, 5-1974.
[CC 1974 §245.020; Ord. No. 939 §2, 5-1974]
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons owning, controlling, harboring, possessing or having the management or care, in whole or in part, of any dog to permit such dog or dogs to run at large. For the purpose of this Chapter, every dog when on any street, alley or any other public place in the City of Versailles which is not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held or when on private property within said City, which either not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held or which is not so confined so as to prevent its straying from the premises shall be deemed running at large; provided however, that a dog bearing a license as hereinafter provided may remain on the property of its owner without leash or other confinement.
The parent or guardian of a minor child is responsible for the adequate care of any animal owned by, in the control of, or harbored by that minor child.
[CC 1974 §245.040; Ord. No. 939 §4, 5-1974; Ord. No. 959 §1, 5-1975; Ord. No. 1209 §§1 — 2, 5-2-1989; Ord. No. 1415 §1, 8-5-1997; Ord. No. 1704 §§1 — 3, 9-5-2006; Ord. No. 18-007, 5-8-2018]
A. 
All dogs found running at large shall be picked up and impounded by the Regulatory Control Officer, or in the absence of the Regulatory Control Officer, the Chief of Police, the City Police, or any other person of the City of Versailles designated by the Mayor for such purpose. Said impoundment shall be made to the City Pound. Within twenty-four (24) hours after any dog shall be picked up and impounded, the Regulatory Control Officer, or in the absence of the Regulatory Control Officer, the Chief of Police, the City Police, or any other person of the City of Versailles designated by the Mayor for such purpose, shall notify the City Clerk of the description of said dog, as to when said dog was impounded and as to its present location. The City Clerk shall then have the duty to post in the City Hall written notice of the impoundment of said dog containing said description. If the identity of the owner of said dog is known or if said dog is properly licensed, the City Clerk shall further make all reasonable efforts to notify the owner of said dog of said impoundment.
B. 
If a dog is impounded and the notice as provided in Subsection (A) is given and the dog is not redeemed by the owner within one (1) week after the dog is impounded, then the dog may be disposed of as hereinafter provided.
1. 
Euthanasia.
2. 
Released to a new owner who shows to the satisfaction of the Regulatory Control Officer that such person has the ability and intention to provide the dog with an appropriate home and humane care; and agrees to the following requirements:
a. 
To cause the dog to receive a rabies vaccination within ten (10) days and deliver a veterinarian verification thereof to the Humane Officer, and
b. 
To cause the dog to be licensed with the City Collector as provided in the City ordinances if such dog is to be housed or kept within the City, and
c. 
To cause the dog to be neutered and show proof thereof within ten (10) days; and
d. 
Pay to the City an adoption fee of forty dollars ($40.00).
[Ord. No. 23-004, 4-11-2023]
C. 
In the event the owner of the impounded dog wishes to redeem his or her dog from the City Pound, then he or she must meet the following conditions, to wit:
1. 
Pay an impoundment fee of ten dollars ($10.00) plus a confinement and boarding fee of two dollars ($2.00) per day for each day or portion of a day that the dog is retained in the City Pound, and
2. 
Show proof of rabies vaccination and a City dog license as required by the City ordinances. If the owner fails to show proof of vaccination and a City dog license and he or she is a resident of the City, then such owner shall be granted ten (10) days to acquire a City license and proof of rabies vaccination.
[Ord. No. 1531 §§1 — 3, 9-4-2001]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor within the boundary of the City of Versailles, Missouri, any dangerous dog which is not restrained as set out in Subsection (C) of this Section.
B. 
Definitions. As used in this Section, the following terms shall have these prescribed meanings:
ATTACK
Aggressive physical contact initiated by the dog.
DANGEROUS DOG
Any dog which, without justification, attacks a person or domestic animal causing physical injury or death or behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses an unjustified imminent threat of serious injury or death to one (1) or more persons or domestic animals. A dog's breed shall not be considered in determining whether or not it is "dangerous". Further,
No dog may be declared "dangerous":
1. 
If the dog was protecting or defending a person within the immediate vicinity of the dog from an attack or assault;
2. 
If at the time the person was committing a crime or offense upon the property of the owner or custodian of the dog;
3. 
If the person was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog or in the past had teased, tormented, abused or assaulted the dog;
4. 
If the dog was attacked or menaced by the domestic animal or the domestic animal was on the property of the owner or custodian of the dog;
5. 
If the dog was responding to pain or injury or protecting itself, its kennels or its offspring;
6. 
If the person or domestic animal was disturbing the dog's natural functions such as sleeping or eating.
7. 
Neither growling nor barking, nor both, shall alone constitute grounds upon which to find a dog to be "dangerous".
DOMESTIC ANIMAL
Any animal commonly kept as a pet in family households in the United States including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters, and any animals commonly kept for companion or commercial purposes.
SERIOUS INJURY
Any physical injury consisting of broken bones or a permanently disfiguring laceration requiring either multiple stitches or cosmetic surgery.
C. 
When outdoors and not confined in a kennel, the dog must be attended and kept on a leash no longer than six (6) feet and under the control of a person eighteen (18) years of age or older. Outdoors and unattended, the dog must be confined to an escapeproof kennel of the following description:
1. 
Such kennel shall allow the dog to stand normally and without restriction and shall be at least two and one-half (2.5) times the length of the dog and shall protect the dog from the elements.
2. 
Fencing materials shall not have opening with a diameter of more than two (2) inches and in the case of wooden fences, the gaps shall not be more than two (2) inches.
3. 
Any gates within such kennel or structure shall be lockable and of such design as to prevent the entry of children or the escape of the animal and when the dog is confined to such kennel and unattended, such locks shall be kept locked.
[Ord. No. 18-007, 5-8-2018]
If shall be the duty of the Regulatory Control Officer, or in the absence of the Regulatory Control Officer, the Chief of Police, the City Police, and any other person of the City of Versailles, specially designated by the Mayor for such purpose, to take up any dog with the tag provided in Section 205.020, any dog running at large, or any dangerous dog in violation of Section 205.045 above and to impound the same. In effecting the capture of any dog, the officers aforesaid are authorized and directed to use traps, nets, tranquilizer guns or any other humane method.
Every officer impounding a dog under this Chapter shall, within twenty-four (24) hours after such impounding, enter upon a registry open to the public and in plain public view at the City Hall of the City a description of such dog including breed, color and approximate size, and the date apprehended, and if the owner or keeper is known, the name and address of such owner or keeper; or the owner or keeper shall be given actual notice of the impoundment of such dog before disposition of such dog.
[Ord. No. 1526 §1, 8-7-2001]
It shall be unlawful within the boundary of the City of Versailles, Missouri, for any person to own, keep or harbor any dog which by loud, continual or frequent barking or howling disturbs the neighborhood or any person or which habitually barks, threatens or chases pedestrians or vehicles, provided however, that this Section shall not apply to the City dog pound.
[Ord. No. 1486 §§1 — 2, 2-1-2000]
A. 
No person shall keep or harbor any poisonous animal, any non-domestic cats including bobcats, lynx, ocelots, mountain lions, tigers, panthers, lions or any wild/domestic cat hybrid, wolves, wolf/dog hybrids, coyotes or any animal with any percentage of wolf parentage. Further, no person shall keep or harbor any raccoons, skunks, foxes, crocodiles, alligators or caimans within the City limits of the City of Versailles. Provided however, that this Section shall not restrict the right to keep and harbor small caged fowl, domestic dogs, domestic cats and small rodents of varieties as used for laboratory purposes.
B. 
Any person keeping non-poisonous snakes shall restrain the same in locked escapeproof cages, except when being handled.
A. 
A person commits the offense of animal neglect if he or she:
1. 
Has custody or ownership of an animal and fails to provide adequate care; or
2. 
Knowingly abandons an animal in any place without making provisions for its adequate care.
B. 
All fines and penalties for a first finding of guilt under this Section may be waived by the court if the person found guilty of animal neglect shows that adequate, permanent remedies for the neglect have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance of neglected animals may not be waived. This Section shall not apply to the provisions of Section 578.007, RSMo., or Chapter 272, RSMo.
C. 
In addition to any other penalty imposed by this Section 578.009, RSMo., the court may order a person found guilty of animal neglect to pay all reasonable costs and expenses necessary for:
1. 
The care and maintenance of neglected animals within the person's custody or ownership;
2. 
The disposal of any dead or diseased animals within the person's custody or ownership;
3. 
The reduction of resulting organic debris affecting the immediate area of the neglect; and
4. 
The avoidance or minimization of any public health risks created by the neglect of the animals.
A. 
A person is guilty of animal trespass if a person having ownership or custody of an animal knowingly fails to provide adequate control for a period equal to or exceeding twelve (12) hours.
B. 
For a first conviction of animal trespass, each offense shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00). The second and all subsequent convictions shall be punishable by imprisonment or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or both such fine and imprisonment. All fines for a first conviction of animal trespass may be waived by the court, provided that the person found guilty of animal trespass shows that adequate, permanent remedies for trespass have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance of trespassing animals may not be waived. This Section shall not apply to the provisions of Section 578.007 or Sections 272.010 to 272.370, RSMo.
A. 
A person commits the offense of animal abuse if he or she:
1. 
Intentionally or purposely kills an animal in any manner not allowed by or expressly exempted from the provisions of Sections 578.005 to 578.023 and 273.030, RSMo.;
2. 
Purposely or intentionally causes injury or suffering to an animal; or
3. 
Having ownership or custody of an animal knowingly fails to provide adequate care which results in substantial harm to the animal.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony under state law.
A. 
A person commits the offense of knowingly releasing an animal if that person, acting without the consent of the owner or custodian of an animal, intentionally releases any animal that is lawfully confined for the purpose of companionship or protection of persons or property or for recreation, exhibition or educational purposes.
B. 
As used in this Section, "animal" means every living creature, domesticated or wild, but not including Homo sapiens.
C. 
The provisions of this Section shall not apply to a public servant acting in the course of such servant's official duties.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances this offense can be a felony under state law.
Whenever rabies becomes prevalent in the City, the Mayor shall, according to the necessity of the case, issue a quarantine order requiring every owner or person in charge of any dog or dogs within the limits of the City to either kill or impound his/her dog or dogs or to have such dog or dogs immunized. Said order shall be published once in the paper officially publishing the business of the City and, in the absence of such paper, shall be posted as in case of sales of personal property. The Mayor is authorized by proclamation to terminate any such quarantine whenever, in his/her judgment, the necessity for it no longer exists.
[Ord. No. 1033 §§1 — 5, 9-4-1979]
A. 
No person shall operate a dog kennel, as herein after defined, within the City limits of Versailles, Missouri, without first having obtained a permit therefor from the Board of Aldermen of the City of Versailles.
B. 
No permit shall be issued by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Versailles for the operation of a dog kennel unless the premises upon which said dog kennel is operated shall consist of an area of not less than one (1) acre and said premises shall further be fenced so as to prevent the running of dogs in said kennel at any location within fifty (50) feet of the boundary of said lands upon which said kennel shall be maintained.
C. 
For the purpose of this Section a "dog kennel" shall be defined as any premises upon which more than three (3) dogs shall be maintained at any one time. For the purpose of this Section, a "dog" shall be defined as any dog of more than three (3) months of age.
D. 
All applications for the operation of a dog kennel under this Section shall be made to the City Clerk of the City of Versailles and there shall be levied for said permit a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per year.
E. 
No persons shall operate a dog kennel under any permit issued by the Board of Aldermen in such a manner as to constitute a public nuisance under the laws of the State of Missouri and the ordinances of the City of Versailles.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
The following words, when used in this Article, shall have the meanings set out herein:
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
The person or persons designated by the City to enforce the provisions of this Article and all other animal control ordinances in the City.
CATS
Any member of the feline (genus felis) family over three (3) months of age, both male and female.
FERAL CAT
Untamed, wild, undomesticated cat.
OWNER OR KEEPER
Any person having a right of property in a cat or who keeps or harbors a cat or who has it in his/her care or acts as its custodian or who knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about any premises owner or occupied by him/her.
RUNNING AT LARGE
Allowing a cat to be off the private premises of the owner or keeper or his/her agent or servant and not on a leash or confined to the arms, motor vehicle, trailer or other conveyance of the owner or keeper, his/her agent or servant.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
A. 
All persons residing within the City limits of Versailles, Missouri (City), owning, controlling, harboring, possessing or having the management or care of a cat or cats shall be required to have a City license and either a license tag or an identity microchip for such cat or cats. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to provide a licensing document and a tag for each such cat license in the City.
B. 
The City charge for the license and tag or identity microchip shall be the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for neutered cats and the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) for unneutered cats and shall be issued for the period of one (1) year commencing on the date of the approval of the application and ending one (1) year thereafter.
C. 
No license, tag or identity microchip shall be issued to any person until such person shall have a certificate of rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian confirming to the satisfaction of the City Clerk that the cat being licensed has its rabies vaccinations as herein required. Such certificate must confirm that the rabies vaccination was administered to the cat being licensed within one (1) year of the date of application for the cat licensed and shall be registered by the City Clerk in the City cat licensing files.
D. 
The owner or keeper of any cat in the City is hereby required to have their cat or cats vaccinated each year against rabies by a licensed veterinarian and to procure a certificate of vaccination from the veterinarian and to present such certificate to the City Clerk upon application for a cat license and tag. The tag shall be securely attached to a collar to be continuously worn by the cat for which the tag was issued.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
It shall be unlawful for any person or person owning, controlling, harboring, possessing or having the management or care, in whole or in part, of any cat to permit such cat or cats to run at large. For the purpose of this Chapter, every cat when on any street, alley or any other public place in the City of Versailles which is not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held by the person above described or when on private property within said City, which either not attached to a leash, the other end of which is securely held by the person above described or which is not so confined so as to prevent its straying from such person's premises shall be deemed running at large; provided however, that a cat bearing a license as hereinafter provided may remain on the property of its owner without leash or other confinement.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008; Ord. No. 18-007, 5-8-2018]
A. 
All cats found running at large are hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be picked up and impounded by the Animal Control Officer, or in the absence of the Animal Control Officer, the Chief of Police, the City Police, or any other person of the City of Versailles designated by the Mayor for such purpose. Said impoundment shall be made to the City Pound. Within twenty-four (24) hours after any cat shall be picked up and impounded, the Animal Control Officer, or in the absence of the Animal Control Officer, the Chief of Police, the City Police, or any other person designated by the Mayor for such purpose shall notify the City Clerk of the description of the cat, as to when said cat was impounded and as to its present location. The City Clerk shall then have the duty to post in the City Hall written notice of the impoundment of said cat containing said description. If the identity of the owner of said cat is known or if said cat is properly licensed, the City Clerk shall further make all reasonable efforts to notify the owner of said cat of said impoundment.
B. 
If a cat is impounded and the notice as provided in Subsection (A) is given and the cat is not redeemed by the owner within one (1) week after the cat is impounded, then the cat may be disposed of as hereinafter provided.
1. 
Euthansia.
2. 
Released to a new owner who shows to the satisfaction of the Animal Control Officer that such person has the ability and intention to provide the cat with an appropriate home and humane care and agrees to the following requirements:
a. 
To cause the cat to receive a rabies vaccination within ten (10) days and deliver a veterinarian verification thereof to the Animal Control Officer; and
b. 
To cause the cat to be licensed with the City Collector as provided in the City ordinances if such cat is to be housed or kept within the City, and
c. 
To cause the cat to be neutered and show proof thereof within ten (10) days; and
d. 
Pay to the City an adoption fee of forty dollars ($40.00).
[Ord. No. 23-004, 4-11-2023]
C. 
In the event the owner of the impounded cat wishes to redeem his or her cat from the City Pound, then he or she must meet the following conditions, to wit:
1. 
Pay an impoundment fee of ten dollars ($10.00) plus a confinement and boarding fee of two dollars ($2.00) per day for each day or portion of a day that the cat is retained in the City pound; and
2. 
Show proof of rabies vaccination and a City cat license as required by the City ordinances. If the owner fails to show proof of vaccination and a City cat license and he or she is a resident of the City, then such owner shall be granted ten (10) days to acquire a City license and proof of rabies vaccination; and
3. 
To cause the cat to be neutered and show proof thereof within ten (10) days or in the alternative show proof to the Animal Control Officer that the cat is a show animal or a breeder animal (owner must have breeder's license) or the cat cannot be neutered because of health reasons (must have veterinarian statement to prove health reasons for not neutering).
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
There is hereby established a City animal pound under the supervision and direction of the Animal Control Officer for the reception, humane care and disposition of sick, injured, diseased or impounded animals.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
If a cat impounded is a feral cat or is so diseased or disabled beyond recovery for any useful purpose at the time it is impounded in the judgment of the Animal Control Officer, it shall be humanely euthanized as quickly as practical.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to deliver a cat to the Animal Control Officer, when requested to do so under the provisions of this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
It shall be unlawful for any person to remove from the custody of the Animal Control Officer, by force, deceit or otherwise, any animal which has been trapped, captured or impounded by the Animal Control Officer.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
The Animal Control Officer shall have the right of entry to any property or premises within the City for the purpose of determining if the provisions of this Chapter are being violated.
[Ord. No. 1761, 10-14-2008]
Any person violating the provisions of this Chapter, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than three (3) months in jail or shall be both fined and sentenced. Each day that the condition exists in violation of these provisions constitutes separate offense. Upon conviction under this Section, the City enforcement personnel shall have the right to seize and impound the animal(s).