Any Public Safety Officer or Humane Officer is authorized to
investigate conditions under which an animal is kept or harbored and
to require the owner to exhibit a license for the animal(s). No person
shall hinder, molest or interfere with any officer in the performance
of these duties. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any
of the provisions of this Article and it shall be unlawful for any
person to interfere with, obstruct or prevent any official or employee
of the City from the performance of his or her duties in the enforcement
of any Section of this Article.
A.
It
shall be unlawful for any person or persons owning, controlling, harboring,
possessing or having the management of care, in whole or in part,
of any animal to permit such animal to run at large in the City.
For the purpose of this Article, every dog when on any street,
alley or other public place in the City which is not attached to a
leash, the other end of which is securely held by a person sufficiently
capable of restraining such dog or when on private property within
the City, which is either not attached to a leash, the other end of
which is securely held or is not so confined as to prevent its straying
from the premises or is on the private property not owned or leased
by the dog's owner, keeper or harborer, shall be deemed to be running
at large, provided however, that a dog bearing an identification tag
stating thereon its owner's name and address and being kept on the
property of its owner without leash or other confinement shall not
be deemed to be running at large.
B.
A tether
to which a dog is attached shall either be held by a person sufficiently
capable of restraining such dog or shall be securely fastened to an
object of sufficient weight and/or anchor to restrain such dog. A
tether which is fastened to an inanimate object shall:
1.
Not allow a dog to be within three (3) feet of any public alley,
sidewalk or roadway;
2.
Allow the dog access at all times to food, water and shelter;
3.
Be attached to the dog by a well-fitted dog collar or harness in
good working condition and shall not be a slip, self-tightening or
"prong" collar;
4.
Remain free of entangled objects;
5.
Not allow the dog to come into contact with another tethered dog;
6.
Prevent the dog from crossing over any barrier which could result
in the dog being hung by its collar or harness without the dog's feet
being on the ground.
No person shall own or harbor within the City limits any dog
that by loud and frequent or habitual barking, yelping or howling
is an annoyance to the peace of another.
Breeders, as defined by Missouri Statute, must follow all Missouri
Department of Agriculture regulations as allowed by Sections 273.325
to 273.357, RSMo., in order to operate within the City.
No person shall keep or harbor a fierce, vicious or dangerous
dog or other animal without being caged in a manner not to pose a
danger to any inhabitant of the City. Upon a plea or finding of guilt
upon this Section, the dog which is the subject of the violation shall
be removed from the City as part of the sentence ordered by the Municipal
Judge.
A.
No person shall own, keep or harbor upon any premises in the City
any dog over sixteen (16) weeks of age without first procuring from
the City a license tag for such dog.
B.
Dog licenses shall be issued by the City or its designee upon the
payment of the license fee and presentation of certificate of inoculation
against rabies, signed by a licensed veterinarian, which certificate
shall have been executed sometime during the previous thirty-six-month
period for a three-year type vaccination, or during the previous twelve
(12) months for other vaccination. No license shall be issued for
a spayed or neutered animal without a certification of verification
from a licensed veterinarian.
C.
The license fees shall be as follows:
1.
Basic rate for all tags: twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
2.
Rate if spayed or neutered (the neutered rate): twenty dollars
($20.00) less than the basic rate.
3.
Should an owner present written documentation from a licensed
veterinarian stating that the spaying or neutering procedure would
be hazardous to the dog due to its age or health and present written
documentation signed by the owner that it is not the owner's
intent to breed the dog, then the license fee for such dog shall be
equal to the neutered rate.
D.
City licenses are not transferable from one dog to another. Such
registration shall be renewed annually on or before December 31. The
full license fee shall be paid and collected for a partial year.
E.
Replacement tags may be purchased for $1.50.
F.
Removal Of Collar, Harness, Registration Tag. No
person shall remove or cause to be removed the collar, harness or
registration tag from any registered dog without the consent of the
owner thereof.
G.
The provisions of this Section do not apply to the following:
1.
Dogs brought into the City for the purpose of participating
in a dog show.
2.
Dogs which are categorized as "service animals" by the Americans
with Disabilities Act[1] definition found in the Code of Federal Regulations, as
follows: Service animal means any dog that is individually trained
to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with
a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,
or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild
or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the
purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service
animal must be directly related to the handler's disability.
Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting
individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other
tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the
presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or
rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during
a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving
items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support
and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility
disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological
disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive
behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence
and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship
do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq.
Any dog running at large within the City, and whose owner, harborer
or keeper is not readily identifiable, shall be delivered to the new
Nodaway Humane Society.
A.
All
dogs picked up and impounded due to any violation of this Article
may be redeemed by the owner or person entitled thereto upon proof
of ownership and the following conditions:
1.
There shall be paid to new Nodaway Humane Society:
a.
Impound and boarding fees as set forth by the Board of Directors
of the Society.
2.
In the event the owner or person entitled to such dog or cat cannot
provide proof of rabies immunization prior to reclaiming the animal,
they shall be required to pay for the cost of immunization prior to
reclaiming the animal. If proof of immunization against rabies is
provided within seven (7) days, a refund will be granted.
3.
The owner or person entitled thereto shall present proof of current
licensing and upon the failure to do so shall license such dog upon
compliance with all licensing requirements.
4.
No person shall have the right to redemption of any impounded dog
unless such redemption is effected within seven (7) days after impoundment.
Dogs that have been impounded for a period of more than seven
(7) days are eligible for adoption or may be disposed of, at the discretion
of the Director of the shelter, pursuant to the regulations of the
Missouri Department of Agricultures' Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA).
Any fine imposed by any Section of this Chapter shall not exceed
five hundred dollars ($500.00) per charge and any jail sentence imposed
upon a violation of any Section of this Chapter shall not exceed ninety
(90) days per charge.
