(a) Every owner of any dog over six months of age shall annually register with the city clerk his or her name and address with the name, sex and description of each dog owned and kept within the city. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any newly acquired dog or any dog brought into the city to fail to register such animal within 30 days from acquisition or bringing the dog into the city. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any previously registered dog to fail to maintain current registration of such dog.
(b) Upon registration, the owner shall present a current, completed certificate of immunization against rabies. No registration shall follow without evidence of this document, and it shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog over six months of age to fail to maintain effective rabies immunization of such dog.
(c) The owner or harborer of any dog shall, at the time of registering such dog, present to the city clerk a certificate from an accredited veterinarian showing that a male dog has been neutered or a female dog has been spayed, if the dog has been neutered or spayed.
(d) The city clerk shall collect an annual registration fee, as set in the city’s fee resolution, for each neutered male dog and for each spayed female dog, and an additional fee, as set in the city’s fee resolution, for each unneutered male dog and for each unspayed female dog.
(e) The registration year shall be from January 1st through December 31st of each year. The fee shall be payable before March 1st of each year without penalty.
(Code 1977, 6.04.010; Code 1988)
It shall be the duty of the city clerk or designated agent, upon a showing of current rabies immunization and receipt of the registration fee hereinbefore required, to keep in a book suitable for the registration of dogs, the time of the registration, the name of the owner or keeper, the number of the registration and the amount paid therefor, and shall deliver to the owner or keeper of the dog a certificate in writing, stating that the person has registered the dog and the number by which the dog is registered, and shall also deliver to the owner or keeper of the dog a tag with the registration number and the registration year thereon, which shall be, by the owner or keeper, attached to the collar to be used on the dog so registered. When any tag has become lost during a registration period, the owner of the dog may request a duplicate tag for the remainder of the registration period. When so requested, the city clerk shall, upon presentation of the registration certificate, issue a duplicate of such tag upon the payment of a fee as set in the city’s fee resolution. It shall be unlawful for any person to take off or remove the city registration tag from any dog belonging to another, or remove the strap or collar on which the same is fastened.
(Code 1977, 6.04.010; Code 1988)
It shall be unlawful for any person to place on any dog a tag issued for any other dog or to make or use any false, forged or counterfeited tag or imitation thereof.
(Code 1988)
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog kept within the city to fail to display a current certificate of immunization against rabies issued by an accredited veterinarian evidencing the vaccination of such dog within two years, when requested by the animal control officer or any law enforcement officer.
(Code 1988)
The provisions of this article with respect to registration shall not apply to any dog owned by any person visiting or temporarily remaining within the city for less than 30 days. However, such dogs shall be kept under restraint by the owner thereof at all times.
(Code 1988)
(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or harborer of any dog to permit such dog to run at large within the city at any time;
(b) Any dog running at large within the city shall be impounded as set out in section 2-207;
(c) The owner of any dog impounded and/or receiving a citation pursuant to the provisions of section 2-102(c), or running at large shall in addition to paying an impoundment fee and board bill, pay a fine. In the event the owner of any dog impounded or cited for having the animal running at large without the tag required by section 2-202, shall be subject to an additional fine of not more than $50.
(d) It shall be a separate municipal offense for any person to receive four (4) or more citations for violation of Section 2- 206 within a twenty-four (24) month consecutive period. Such person shall be cited as a habitual violator. Any person found guilty of violation of this Section shall be fined a minimum of $100.00 and a maximum of $500.00 for each habitual violator citation. The Municipal Judge shall have no authority to suspend the minimum fine or any portion thereof. A person cited for violation of this Section shall be required to appear in municipal court. In addition thereto, the Municipal Judge shall have the authority to sentence the individual to up to six (6) months in jail. It shall be a defense to an alleged violation of this Section for the defendant to have been adjudged not guilty, or the charge dismissed, of Section 2-206 for a specific citation issued under Section 2-206.
(Code 1977, 6.04.040; Ord. 273, Sec. 1; Code 1996; Ord. 416; Code 2015)
(a) Any dog found in violation of the provisions of this article shall be subject to impoundment by the city.
(b) A record of all dogs impounded shall be kept by the city containing the following information: color, sex, weight, height, identifying marks, registration number (if any) and the date of impoundment.
(c) If the dog impounded has a current registration tag attached to its collar or if the impounding officer knows the identity of the dog’s owner, the owner of such dog, as shown by the records of the city clerk shall be notified in writing as soon as possible or at least 24 hours before such dog is disposed of by destruction or sale. If, at the end of five days the city clerk has been unable to locate the owner, or the owner, upon having been located, refuses to claim or redeem said dog, then the dog may be sold, euthanized or otherwise disposed of.
(d) If the dog impounded has no current registration tag and the identity of the animal’s owner is unknown to the animal control officer or the impounding law enforcement officer then such impounding officer shall, upon taking any such animal into custody and impounding the same, make a record thereof, with a description of the animal and the date and place taken into custody and the place of impounding, and shall thereupon immediately post a public notice stating that the animal, describing the same with the date and place of taking, has been taken up, and that unless the charges of impounding the same, together with any license fees due and unpaid, are paid within three business days from the date of the notice, that the animal will be disposed of as provided in this code. If within three full business days the owner does not appear to claim the dog, then the dog may be sold, euthanized or otherwise disposed of.
(e) If at any time before the sale or destruction of any dog impounded under the provisions of this article, the owner of an impounded dog does appear and redeem the • dog, it shall be turned over to the person claiming it upon payment of any impoundment fees or penalties plus the actual costs of impoundment, and upon compliance with the registration provisions of this article. This subsection shall not apply to any dog alleged as being vicious under section 2-115 or suspected of rabies under section 2-119 of this code.
(f) Impoundment and boarding fees shall be as stated in the city’s fee resolution. In addition, the owner of any animal in custody of the city shall be responsible for reimbursing any and all medication or veterinarian expenses.
(g) Any dog impounded may not be released without a current rabies vaccination.
(h) Impoundment hereunder shall not preclude any court from imposing and executing any fine which might otherwise be levied under this article for violation of any of the provisions thereof; nor shall impoundment be a defense in any prosecution commenced hereunder.
(i) The redemption of any dog impounded for a violation of any provision of this chapter shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of such provision by the person redeeming the dog.
(Code 1977, 6.04.050; Code 1988; Ord. 416; Code 2015)
If any dog is not redeemed by its owner or harborer within the time allowed for redemption as specified in section 2-207 thereof, the animal control officer, any authorized law enforcement officer, any authorized veterinarian or any duly authorized pound personnel may destroy such dog or sell the same for the costs of impoundment and keeping, plus any registration fee due for the current year.
(Code 1977, 6.05.050; Code 1988)
Any unspayed female dog in the stage of estrus (heat) shall be confined during such period of time in a house, building or secure enclosure, and the area of enclosure shall be so constructed that no other dog or dogs may gain voluntary access to the confined animal except for purposes of planned breeding. Any animal that is in the state of estrus (heat) and that is not properly confined, or any such animal that is creating a neighborhood nuisances, shall be removed to a boarding kennel, to a veterinary hospital or to the animal shelter. All expenses incurred as a result of the confinement shall be paid by the owner. The owner of animals removed to the animal shelter shall be charged at the rate established from time to time by the animal shelter for routine confinement.
(Code 1977, 6.04.020; Code 1988)
Whenever the mayor shall deem it necessary for the protection and welfare of the inhabitants of the city, he or she shall issue an order requiring all dogs kept within the city to be effectively muzzled for such length of time as may be specified in the order, to prevent them from biting or injuring persons or animals. Such order shall be published in the official newspaper of the city for such period of time as the mayor may deem necessary.
(Code 1977, 6.04.030; Code 1988)
(a) Rabies vaccinations shall be required for cats domiciled within the City limits of Kiowa, Kansas. Except as provided in subsection (d), an owner or keeper of a cat over 3 months of age must have that cat vaccinated against rabies. Rabies vaccine must be administered by a licensed veterinarian or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
(b) Upon receiving an initial vaccination, a cat is considered protected for one year and an owner or keeper of that cat must get a booster vaccination for that cat one year after the initial vaccination and subsequent booster vaccinations at intervals that do not exceed the intervals recommended by a national association of state public health veterinarians for the type of vaccine administered.
(c) Enforcement. A humane agent, an animal control officer or a law enforcement officer may ask an owner or keeper of a cat or dog to present proof of a certificate of rabies vaccination.
(d) An owner or keeper of a cat is exempt from the requirements of subsection (a), only if a medical reason exists that precludes the vaccination of the cat. To qualify for this exemption, the owner or keeper must have a written statement signed by a licensed veterinarian that includes a description of the cat and the medical reason that precludes the vaccination.
(Ord. 366; Code 2015)
(a) Definition. For the purposes of this article, a “stray cat” means a cat on the premises of a person other than the owner of the cat, without the consent of the owner or occupant of the premises, on a public street or on other public property, except under the physical control of the owner.
(b) Seizure by animal control officer. An animal control officer or person acting in that capacity may seize a stray cat and deliver it to an animal shelter as provided for or to the owner, if the owner is known. If ownership cannot be established, such a cat may be handled as a homeless cat for the purpose of acceptance and disposition by an animal shelter.
(c) A person finding a stray cat and not knowing the owner or residence of the cat may take that cat to the animal shelter designated by the municipality in which the cat was found.
(d) Cats with identification. An animal shelter that accepts a cat with cat identification shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the owner by telephone or by sending a written notice within 24 hours of accepting the cat. Except as provided in subsections (d) and (f), the animal shelter shall hold the cat for a period of 3 days beginning on and including the day of acceptance. If the owner claims the cat within the 3-day period, the animal shelter shall release the cat to the owner upon payment of any municipal impoundment fee and actual fees incurred for food, shelter and veterinary care. Upon expiration of the 3-day period, ownership of the cat is vested with the animal shelter and the animal shelter may then handle the cat as a homeless cat for disposition in accordance with subsection (b).
(e) Homeless cats. When an animal shelter accepts a cat and that cat does not have cat identification, the animal shelter shall hold the cat for not less than 3 days. After the 3 days, the animal shelter may treat the cat as a homeless cat and may:
(1) Offer the cat for adoption, sell or give away the cat; or
(2) Otherwise dispose of the cat humanely
An animal shelter may not sell or give a cat to a research facility.
(f) Owner’s claim after 3-day period. An owner may reacquire a cat at any time prior to its disposition under subsection 2 upon payment of any municipal impoundment fee and actual fees incurred for food, shelter and veterinary care and any other reasonable fee imposed by the animal shelter.
(g) Euthanasia for severely sick or severely injured cat. A humane agent, an animal control officer or an animal shelter may authorize in writing the immediate euthanasia of a severely sick or severely injured cat upon determining that the following conditions are met:
(1) The animal control officer of the municipality where the cat was found has been notified or, if the cat has cat identification, the owner of the cat has been notified; and
(2) A veterinarian states in writing that the cat’s recovery from its injury or illness, given reasonable time and reasonable care, is doubtful or that the cat presents a danger to the public.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a veterinarian may authorize immediate euthanasia if, in the veterinarian’s judgment, there is no possibility of recovery for a severely injured or severely sick cat.
(h) Immunity. A veterinarian, a humane agent, an animal control officer or an animal shelter, including a person employed by an animal shelter, is not civilly liable to the owner of a cat for the loss of that cat resulting from actions taken in compliance with this section. Nothing in this subsection grants to an animal shelter or person any immunity from liability arising from the gift, sale or other transference of a cat to a research facility in violation of subsection (b).
(Ord. 366; Code 2015)