(a)   All owners of dogs (1) of at least six months in age and (2) which are owned, kept, maintained or harbored within the city shall register the ownership of each such dog with the city.  Such registration shall be done as established by this code. It shall be unlawful for any such owner to fail to register a dog with the City.

(b)   The owner of any service dog defined by U.S. Department of Justice ADA Regulations shall be subject to all provisions of this article.

(c)   Owners of dogs must tender to the city clerk the forms prescribed by this article which shall have been completed by an authorized veterinarian to become registered.

(d)   A tag of durable material shall be issued to the owner of any dog vaccinated for rabies. Any owner to whom such tags are issued shall thereafter cause such tags to be attached to a suitable collar or harness which shall bear an identification number unique to the tag and animal.

(Ord. 735)

(a)   All dogs exceeding six (6) months in age and kept, maintained, or harbored within the city shall have a current inoculation by a licensed veterinarian against rabies. An owner acquiring a dog shall have such dog inoculated against rabies within thirty (30) days after acquiring such animal or within thirty (30) days after such animal reaches six (6) months of age, whichever occurs last, and shall obtain a rabies vaccination tag in accordance with this article. Any person moving into the city from a location outside the city shall comply with this section no later than thirty (30) days after having moved to the city.

(b)   All owners of dogs kept, harbored or maintained within the city shall maintain upon each such animal they own a collar or harness to which its rabies tag shall be attached.

(c)   It is unlawful for any person to harbor any dog which has not been vaccinated for rabies as provided by this article or which cannot be identified as having a current vaccination against rabies.

(d)   No person shall affix to the collar or harness of any dog, or permit to remain so affixed, a tag evidencing inoculation for any other dog.

(e)   The owner of any domesticated animal other than a rodent, rabbit, fowl, insect or reptile that has bitten any person or animal so as to cause an abrasion of the skin shall immediately report such bite to an animal control or law enforcement officer. The officer to whom such report is made shall consult with a licensed veterinarian or the county health department and shall thereafter direct the confinement of such animal for a period, which shall not be less than ten (10) consecutive days, as deemed warranted by the consulting veterinarian or county health department. Such confinement may be on the premises of the owner at the discretion of the animal control officer, but must be within the city. If confinement does not occur on the premises of the owner, confinement shall be at the animal shelter or in a veterinary hospital of the owner’s choice. Any confinement shall be at the owner’s expense. In the case of an animal whose owner cannot be located, such confinement shall be at the animal shelter.

(f)   The owner of any animal reported to have inflicted a bite on any person shall, on demand of the animal control or law enforcement officer, produce the animal for examination and confinement, as prescribed by this section. The owner of any such animal who refuses to produce it shall be subject to immediate arrest if there is probable cause to believe the animal has inflicted a bite upon a person, and such owner is keeping or harboring the animal and willfully refuses to produce the animal upon demand. Such person shall be taken before a judge of the municipal court, who may order the immediate production of the animal. If the owner of any animal shall willfully or knowingly hide or refuse to produce such animal, each day of such refusal constitutes a separate violation of this article. It shall be unlawful to destroy or remove any such animal from the city before it can be properly confined pursuant to this article.

(g)   Every physician or healthcare provider who treats a person for animal bites shall report such treatment to the animal control officer. Such reports shall include the identity and address of any person so treated, and information regarding the animal suspected of having inflicted the bite and the owner thereof.

(h)   All owners of dogs who present, or cause to be presented, any such animal to a veterinarian for vaccination against rabies shall notify such veterinarian if the animal is under confinement or subject to confinement pursuant to this article, or has bitten any person within the ten (10) calendar days immediately preceding such presentation. Whenever under any circumstance a licensed veterinarian shall determine that any animal is rabid, such veterinarian shall immediately report the diagnosis to the county health department. Such report shall include, but not limited to, the animal’s description and, if known, it’s location the identity and address of such animal’s owner; and the identity and address of any person believed to have been in contact with such animal. In the event any animal confined pursuant to this article shall die, the animal control officer shall immediately cause a pathological examination and a search of the inoculation records of such animal to occur, arrange to receive a complete report of the results of such examination and search, and report the same to the county health department, together with any information concerning the identity and address of any person believed to have had contact with such animal.

(i)    Animals known or believed to have been bitten or exposed to a rabid animal shall be immediately confined by the animal control or law enforcement officer and shall thereafter be destroyed or released upon proof of immunization and booster injection given by a licensed veterinarian at the expense of the owner of such animal. The owner of any animal so released shall be required to keep the animal under quarantine for a period of six (6) months or such other period as may deemed necessary by the county health officer.

No guard dog shall be placed, kept or maintained at any location within the city for the protection of persons or property unless:

(a)   Such guard dog is under the complete control of its handler at all times, or such dog is confined to an enclosed area sufficient in design and construction to ensure such dog shall not escape; provided that any such dog placed, kept or maintained in a residential area shall be confined within a six (6) foot high fence with an enclosed top which is separated from any property line fence, and such enclosure has been approved by the animal control officer; and

(b)   Warning signs shall be conspicuously posted indicating the presence of guard dogs and such signs shall plainly identify a telephone number by which to contact at all times a person or entity responsible for controlling such guard dogs.

When any dog defecates upon any property not belonging to its owner or keeper, including common areas of condominiums, townhouses or apartments, it shall be the duty of the owner or keeper of such dog to promptly remove and dispose of such feces. The fine for violation of this section shall be $25 per incident.

(a)   No person, entity or household shall own or harbor more than four (4) dogs individually exceeding six (6) months of age; more than four (4) cats individually exceeding six (6) months of age; in any combination, more than a total of four (4) dogs and cats individually exceeding six (6) months of age; or engage in the commercial business of breeding, buying, selling, trading, training, or boarding cats or dogs or both cats and dogs, without having first obtained a kennel license from the State of Kansas.

(b)   Kennel licenses shall be renewed annually with the State of Kansas.

(c)   The animal control code enforcement or law enforcement officer shall have the right to inspect any premises licensed under this section at any time. Nothing shall prevent their entry onto private property for the purpose of making such inspection and all applicants for kennel licenses shall be deemed to have consented to such entry and inspection by virtue of, and from and after the time of, making application to the city for such license. In the event such entry for the purpose of making an inspection authorized by this section is denied to the animal control or law enforcement officer, the officer or officers so denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order authorizing entry for the purposes of enforcing or administering this section including, but not limited to, inspection of such premises.

(d)   This section shall not apply to and will not be construed to require a kennel license for a licensed veterinarian to operate an animal hospital or clinic.

(a)   No person, entity or household shall continuously picket a dog for more than one (1) continuous hour, except that picketing of the same dog may resume after a hiatus of three (3) consecutive hours, for up to three (3) hours total time on picket per day.

(b)   For the purpose of picketing a dog, a chain, leash, rope or tether shall be at least ten (10) feet in length.

(c)   A chain, leash, rope, collaring device, tether, or any assembly or attachments thereto used to picket a dog shall not weigh more than 1/8th of the animal’s body weight or due to weight, inhibit the free movement of the animal within the area picketed.

(d)   Dogs shall be picketed in such a manner as to prevent injury, strangulation, or entanglement on fences, trees, or other man made or natural obstacles.

(e)   It is unlawful to attach chains or other tether restraint implements directly to a dog without the proper use of a collar, harness or other device designed for that purpose and made from a material that prevents injury to the animal.

(a)   It shall be unlawful for the owner, possessor or keeper of any dog to permit such dog, by loud and persistent or habitual barking, howling or yelping, to disturb any person or neighborhood, and the same is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

(b)   Either the animal control or law enforcement officer may issue a citation for violation of subsection (a) above upon receiving two (2) complaints within two (2) weeks for excessive barking by the same dog, or upon receiving one (1) complaint and personally observing such excessive barking.

(c)   Complainants shall sign a written complaint noting the date and time of the barking, the length of the barking episode(s), the animal believed/known to be barking, and any additional relevant information concerning the excessive barking.

(d)   Animals who are found to bark excessive following teasing or harassment by neighbors or other animals shall not be found to have violated this section.