[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Jamestown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 65.
Parks and public lands — See Ch. 193.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 198.
Zoning — See Ch. 300.
[Adopted 11-29-2010[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Chapter 125, Dogs and Other Animals, consisting of Art. I, Control of Dogs, adopted 7-13-1970, as amended, and Art. II, Dog License Fees, adopted 10-22-1990, as amended. This ordinance also provided an effective date of 1-1-2011.
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York, as amended by Chapter 59, Part T, of the Laws of 2010, and as may be subsequently amended or revised.
The purpose of this article shall be to preserve public peace and good order in the City of Jamestown and to promote the public health, safety and welfare of its people by enforcing regulations and restrictions on the activities of dogs that are consistent with the rights and privileges of dog owners and the rights and privileges of other citizens of the City of Jamestown.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
A person appointed by the City of Jamestown for the purpose of enforcing this article.
AT LARGE
Off the premises of the owner. Any dog that is on property open to the public or is on private property not owned or leased by the owner of the dog unless permission for such presence has been obtained. No dog shall be deemed to be "at large" if it is a guide dog actually leading a blind person, a police work dog in use for police work, or a dog accompanied by its owner or other responsible person and is actively engaged in hunting or training for hunting on unposted land or posted land with the permission of the owner of the land or leashed.
CATS
Both male and female.
DANGEROUS DOG
A. 
Any dog:
(1) 
Which, when unprovoked, approaches a person in a vicious or terrorizing manner in an apparent attitude of attack upon the streets, sidewalks or any public grounds or places;
(2) 
With a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, causes injury or otherwise endangers the safety of human beings or domestic animals;
(3) 
Which bites, inflicts injury, assaults or otherwise attacks or endangers a human being or domestic animal or household pet without provocation on public or private property; or
(4) 
Which is owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting, or any dog trained for dog fighting.
B. 
No dog may be declared dangerous if any injury or damage is sustained by a person who, at the time such injury or damage was sustained, was committing a willful trespass or other tort upon premises occupied by the owner or keeper of the dog or was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the dog or was committing or attempting to commit a crime. If the trespass is determined to be of an innocent nature, the Court may, depending on the circumstances and in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article, find the dog to be dangerous.
C. 
No dog may be declared dangerous if it is used by law enforcement officials for law enforcement work.
DOGS
Both male and female.
LEASHED
Restrained by a leash, attached to a collar or harness of sufficient strength to restrain the dog and which shall be held by a person having the ability to control the dog.
OWNER
Any person owning, keeping, harboring or having the care, custody or control of any dog or cat, and when any such owner shall be a child under the age of 16 years, the head of the household in which such child resides shall be deemed to be the owner of such dog or cat for all purposes of this article. If a dog is not licensed, the term "owner" shall designate and cover any person or persons, firm, association or corporation who or which at any time owns or has custody or control of, harbors or is otherwise responsible for any dog which is kept in, brought into or comes within the City. Any person owning or harboring a dog for a period of one week prior to the filing of any complaint charging a violation of this article shall be held and deemed to be the owner of such dog for the purpose of this article.
SECURE ENCLOSURE
A fence of at least six feet in height or other structure, such as a pen, forming or causing an enclosed area suitable to prevent the entry of young children or any part of their bodies and suitable to confine dangerous dogs, in conjunction with other measures which may be taken by the owner or keeper, such as the tethering of the dangerous dog. Such other structures shall be securely enclosed and locked and designed with secure sides, top and bottom and shall be designed to prevent the animal from escaping therefrom. If the pen or other structure has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides shall be embedded into the ground no less than one foot.
A. 
No dog shall be permitted to be at large or allowed to run at large within the City, except that a dog may be upon the private property or premises of another only with the knowledge, consent and approval of the owner of such premises, and further excepting that a dog duly licensed and wearing a collar and license as required by Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the state may be upon a public way or public recreation area, provided that such dog is leashed by a leash not exceeding eight feet in length and is then and there under the custody and control of the owner or other competent person accompanying the dog who shall be required to make proper and immediate disposal of any pet excrement.
B. 
No person who owns or has control of a dog or cat shall permit or suffer such dog or cat to damage or destroy property of any kind of another person, to attack or bite any person peaceably conducting himself in any place where such person may lawfully be or to attack, chase, injure or kill any domestic animal or dog or cat or another person when such animal is in any place where it may lawfully be; for the purposes hereof, when any dog or cat is at large contrary to the provisions of this article and commits any such acts, the owner or person in control shall be deemed to have permitted or suffered the dog or cat to have committed such acts.
C. 
No person shall keep, suffer or permit to be kept on the premises of the owner or person having control of such dog any dog which by its continual barking, howling or whining or other frequent or long-continued noise shall unreasonably disturb the comfort or repose of any other person.
D. 
No person who owns a dog or cat shall permit the premises, structure or enclosure in which such dog or cat is kept to be unclean or unsanitary. Failure to provide adequate food, water or space shall subject said dogs or cats to seizure and confinement. "Adequate" shall mean sufficient for age, size and number of dogs on the premises.
A. 
All dogs harbored in the City of Jamestown shall be licensed with the City Clerk/Treasurer by the age of four months and shall present a current certificate of rabies and a spaying/neutering certificate, if applicable at the time of making application for a license or for the renewal of an existing license.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2020]
B. 
All dog licenses shall be valid for a period of one year and shall expire at the end of the month one year from the date of issuance.
C. 
The license fee for a spayed or neutered dog shall be $15, which fee includes the assessment of a surcharge of $1 for the purpose of the carrying out of a program of animal population control. The license fee for an unspayed or unneutered dog shall be $22, which fee includes the assessment of a surcharge of $3 for the purpose of the carrying out of a program of animal population control. Replacement tag fees shall be $3.
D. 
The City of Jamestown shall not issue purebred or kennel licenses. All dogs shall be licensed individually in accordance with the fees stated.
E. 
The City of Jamestown does not allow the licensing of dogs by a shelter. The shelter must send the adoptive dog owners to the Town or City Clerk in which the dog will be harbored for licensing.
F. 
All dog licenses shall be purchased in person at the City Hall or by regular mail. If licensing or renewing a license by mail, the appropriate fee shall accompany the forms. There shall be no refund of fees.
No person shall hinder, resist or oppose the Animal Control Officer or police officer authorized to administer or enforce the provisions of this article in the performance of the officer's duties.
A. 
The Animal Control Officer or any police officer shall seize any dog found to be in violation of the applicable provisions of this article or in violation of the applicable provisions of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of this state, and such dog shall be impounded, redeemed, euthanized or sold as provided in § 117 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of this state or Title 10, Chapter I, Part 2, § 2, of the New York State Sanitary Code, and the owner of such dog shall pay the costs of seizure and impoundment as therein provided. The Animal Control Officer or any police officer shall make a record of the matter. The record shall include date of pick up, breed, general description, sex, identification numbers, time of pickup, location of release and name and address of owner, if any.
B. 
The fees for any seizure and impoundment of each dog in violation of this article are as follows:
(1) 
For the first impoundment: $10.
(2) 
For the second impoundment: $20 plus $3 per day.
(3) 
For the third impoundment: $30 plus $3 per day.
The owner of any dog or cat which has attacked or injured another person or animal contrary to the provisions of this article shall confine such dog or cat for such length of time as may be directed by the Animal Control Officer or other appropriate authority for the purpose of determining whether such dog or cat is affected by rabies, and if so affected, such dog or cat shall be destroyed under the direction of the Animal Control Officer or other appropriate authority.
The owner of any dangerous dog as defined in § 125-3 of this Code shall not thereafter permit such dog to be at any place other than on the premises of the owner unless such dog is securely fitted with a properly fitting muzzle of a type which shall not permit such dog to bite another person or animal, collar and leash. Such leash shall have a maximum length of four feet, and both leash and collar shall have a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds. It shall be unlawful at all times thereafter to allow said dog to leave the owner's home or a secure enclosure as defined in § 125-3 of this Code upon the owner's property unless said dog is muzzled, collared and tethered and under the control of a person at least 18 years of age.
Except as otherwise provided in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, any violation of this article shall be deemed an offense punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties, except that any violation of § 125-7 of this article shall be deemed a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or confinement in jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each separate offense or misdemeanor, as the case may be, shall constitute a separate violation. The provisions hereof are in addition to the regulations, restrictions, requirements and penalties contained in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York.
The Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety is hereby charged with the duty of enforcing this article, and the police officers and Animal Control Officer shall be authorized to issue such process as is necessary to bring violators before the court upon being satisfied that the person to whom such process is issued is in fact the person chargeable with the violation.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2020]
There shall be no fee for any license issued for any guide dog, hearing dog, service dog, war dog or police work dog. Each copy of any license for such dogs shall be conspicuously marked "guide dog," "hearing dog," "service dog," "war dog" or "police work dog" as may be appropriate by the City Clerk/Treasurer or other authorized licensing officer.
[Amended 8-28-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2020]
All local dog license fees collected by the City Clerk/Treasurer pursuant to the provisions and this article shall be the property of the City of Jamestown, and said fees shall be used solely for the purposes of controlling dogs and enforcing the provisions of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York and any rule, regulation, local law or ordinance adopted pursuant thereto, including subsidizing the spaying or neutering of dogs in any facility as authorized under § 116 of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York and subsidizing public humane education programs in responsible dog ownership.
The owner or harborer of any dog so destroyed under the provisions of this article, whether destroyed by an animal control officer or police officer or released to an authorized humane society or veterinarian, shall not be entitled to any compensation, and no action shall be maintainable thereafter to recover the value of such dog or any other type of damage.