HomeMy WebLinkAbout0016 LAKEVILI.E: ODRINANCE NO, 16
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO DOGS AND PROVIDING THE LICENSING OF BOGS AND bOG KENNELS AND PROVIDING. PENALTIES FOR
THE VIOLATION THEREOF.
The Town Board of the Town of Lakeville, Dakota County, u+nnesota, ordains:
SECTION 1, Definations, As used in this ordinance the following terms have the following meanings:
Owner: A person or group or corporation owning, keeping or harboring a dog.
Kennel: A place where six or more dogs over six months of age are kept or a place at
which the business of selling, boarding, breeding, showing or treating dogs is conducted when ~
there are six or more dogs being sold, boarded or shown.
Restraint: A dog is said to be under restraint if it is controlled by a leash; if it
is under a voice or signal command of a competent person providing that the dog will obey such
voice or signal command; if it is within the limits of the owners' property; or while it is
confined within a vehicle being driven or parked in the streets.
At Large: A dog is considered to be at large at any time when it is not under restraint
as defined in the paragraph above.
SECTION 2, Licenses Required. No person resid.~ng in the Town of Lakeville shall own, harbor or
keep a dog over six months of age within the Town of Lakeville unless a current license for
such a dog has been obtained as herein provided,
SECTION 3, License Fee and Application.
A, Application for licenses shall be made to the Town Clerk or the pound keeper, It
shall include such descriptive information as is necessary to provide a reasonable identifiCatiorr
of the dog and his owner,
B. The yearly license fee shall be Two Dollars for each male or sprayed female dog over
the age of three months and Five Dollars for each female dog over the age of three months,
C. A kennel operator will pay an annual license fee of One Hundred Dollars,
D, All dog licenses and kennel licenses shall be issued for one year beginning with
the first day of March. Application for licenses may be made thirty (30) days prior to the start
of the licensing year, and thereafter during the licensing year, Application made after March 31st
of the licensing year shall be assessed a penalty of $1.00 for individual dog licenses and $10.00
for a kennel license for each late month or portion thereof which amount shall be added to and
collected with the regular license fee, Any owner who secures a dog after the start of the license
year shall be allowed thirty (30) days after acquiring such dog to secure a license and must file
an affidavit identifying the dog and stating the date of its acquisition,
E. Any dog owner, upon first becoming a resident of Lakeville, shall be allowed thirty (30)
days from such time within which to obtain the dog license, Any dog which may be impounded for
violations of this chapter, within such thirty (30) days period may be reclaimed by the owner without
paying the impounding fees but such owner shall be responsible for paying the keeping of such dog
during its impounding. Any dog owner having a valid dog license from another municipality may, within
thirty (30) days after becoming a Lakeville resident, secure a Lakeville dog license for which the
owner shall pay a fee of Two Dollars upon surrender of the valid license from the previous licensing
municipality, An affidavit identifying the dog and stating the date of commencing residence of the.
owner in the Town shall be filed with the application.
F. Vaccination. No license shall be.gsanted fora dog which has not been vaccinated against
rabies as provided in this section during the 15 month period immediately preceding the application.
The vaccine used shall be only that type of vaccine known as modified live vaccine, The vaccination
shall be performed only by a doctor qualified to practise veterinary medicine in the State in which
the dog is vaccinated, The veterinarian who vaccinates a dog to be licensed in the Town shall
complete in triplicate a certificate of vaccination. One copy shall be issued to the dog owner for
affixing to the license application; one shall be-sent to the Minnesota Livestock veterinary board
and one shall be retained in the veterinarian's files,
G. In the event that the metallic license tag issued for a dog shall be lost the owner may
obtain a duplicate tag upon payment of fifty cents and showing receipt of current license,
H. If a dog dies within the license year and a dog is secured to replace the dog so dying,
the license for the deceased dog may be transferred to the replacement dog upon payment of a transfer
fee of One Dollar,
I. If there is a change in ownership of a dog during the license year, the new owner may
have the current license changed to his name upon the payment of a transfer fee of One Dollar or may
secure a new license.
SECTION 4. Tag and Collar,
A. Upon complying with the provisions of this chapter, there shall be issued to the owner a
metallic tag, stamped with a number and the year for which issued. The shape and design of such tag
shall be changed from year to year and shall have printed on it "Town of Lakeville",
B, Every owner is required to keep a valid tag securely fastened to the dog's choke chain,
collar or harness, which must be worn by the dog at all times.
SECTION 5, Restraint of Dogs. The owner shaii keep his dog under restraint at all times.
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SECTION 6, Confinement of Certain Dogs,
A, Every owner shall confine within a bUildii?g or secure enclosure every fierce, dangerous
or vicious dog and not take such dog out of such enclosure unless such dog is securely muzzled,
B. Every female dog in heat shall be kept confined in such manner that such female dog
cannot come in contact with another dog except for breeding purposes within a building,
SECTION 7, Keeping of Nuisance Dogs Prohibited. No person shall keep or harbor a dog in the Town of
Lakeville which habitually .barks or cries at night between the hours of 10 p,m, and 8 a,m, Any such
dog is hereby declared to be a public nuisance,
SECTION 8. Dog Pound, The Town Board may provide for a Township owned dog pound or may designate as
a dog pound a suitable kennel either within or outside the limits of Lakeville Township,
SE~'TION 9. Pound Keeper and Assistance. The Town Board shall designate the pound keeper,
SECTION 10, Impounding Dogs,
A, Any dog found in violation of this chapter may be taken up by such officers as the
Town Board shall designate and impounded in the animal shelter and there confined in a humane
manner for a period of not less than seven days exclusive of Saturday, Sunday and holidays, if not
claimed prior thereto by the owner, and it shall thereafter become the property of the Town and may
be disposed of in a humane manner or placed in the custody of some other suitable person, If a dog
is destroyed pursuant to this chapter the license for such dog shall expire,
B. Immediately upon the impounding of a dog wearing a current license, the animal warden
shall make every reasonable effort to notify the owner of such dog of such impoundment and of the
conditions whereby the owner may regain custody of the dog, Any verbal notices shall-immediately
be confirmed in writing by the animal warden,
C. To enforce this ordinance such officers may enter upon the private premises where it
appears or where there is reasonable cause to believe that dog is not licensed or is not being
kept, confined or restrained as required herein, Any owner shall produce for the officers inspection
ion his license or receipt when requested to do so by such officer.
D. The Town will not have a full time dog catcher on patrol and the dog catcher or other
authorized officers will only be sent out upon complaints of alleged violations of this ordinance,
SECTION 11. Impounding Dogs or Cats after Person Bitten. Any dog or cat that has bitten a person shall
immediately be impounded for at least 14 days and kept apart from other dogs or animals, until it
is determined whether said dog or cat had or has rabies, Such impounding may be by the owner and
need not be at the Township pound, but if it is not at the Township pound, the owner shall notify
the Township pound keeper and shall furnish proof in writing that such dog is being so impounded,
On expiration of such 14 days if the dog does not have rabies he may be released and the Township
pound keeper shall be notified just prior to such release, If the dog is impounded in such a pound,
such dog may be reclaimed as hereinafter provided. Any dog that has been bitten by a rabid dog or
beleived to have been exposed to rabies shall be impounded and kept in the same manner and for the
same period of time,
SECTION 12. Dogs which Cannot be Impounded, If a dog is diseased, vicious, dangerous, rabid or exposed
to rabies and such dog cannot be impounded after a reasonable effort, or cannot be impounded without
serious risk to the person attempting to impound, such dog may be killed immediately,
SECTION 13, Lenght of Impoundment, Any dog which is impounded in the Township pound shall be kept with
kind treatment, and sufficient food and water for the dog's comfort, If such dog is not known or
suspected of being rabid and has not bitten a person it shall be kept in the Township pound for at
least 7 days unless sooner reclaimed by its owner. If such dog is known to be or suspected of being
rabid or has bitten a person it shall be kept in the pound for at least 14 days,
SECTION 14, Reclaiming or Disposing of Impounded Dogs, Any dog may be redeemed from the pound by the
owner paying an impounding fee of Five Dollars plus the cost of the Township of keeping such dog in
the Township pound, If the dog required a Lakeville license, such license shall also be obtained
bef ore the dog is released, If at the end of the impounding day the dog is not reclaimed by the
owner such a dog shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be sold to any person, Tf the
purchaser will keep or harbor the dog in the Township a license shall also have to be obtained
before possession of the dog is given t~ the purchaser. If such a dog is not sold then it may be
destroyed in a humane manner,
SECTION 15, Kennels - Licenses, The owner of six or more dogs of at least six months old, owned
commercially for profit, breeding or exhibit. or boarding shall be deemed the operator of a dog
kennel. Such dog kennel shall be kept at all times in a clean and sanitary condition and the dogs
shall be reasonably restrained from annoying the neighborhood or the general public by loud, frequent
or habitual barking, yelping or howling,
The application for a kennel license shall state the name and addresses of the owner of said
kennel, the location where the kennel is to be kept and the number of dogs proposed to be kept,
No kennel shall be established within 500 feet of any dwelling house unless both owner and lessee of
such dwelling house consent in advance in writing to the same. The operation of a kennel existing at
this time shall not be effected by this provision.
The kennel license is not transferrable except on application of both the old and new
owners and the payment of the sum of Five Dollars as a transfer fee to the Town Clerk, Each kennel
license shall be posted conspiciously on the premises where said kennel is kept,
SECTION 16. Reports by Pound Keeper, The pound keeper shall account for and pay over monthly to the
Town, all money received by him in behalf of the Town such as license fees or other fees,
The pound keeper shall also give an accurate written report each month to the Town, stating all
licenses written by him, all fees collected, ail sales paid all dogs impounded and the duration
of the impoundment and all dogs destroyed,.
SECTION 17, Exemptions,
A, Hospitals, clinics and other premises operated by licensed veterinarians exclusively
for the care and treatment of animals are exempt from the provisions of this ordinance except where
such duties are expressly stated.
B. the licensing requirements of this ordinance shall not apply to any dog belonging to
a non-resident of the Town and kept within the Town for not longer than 30 days provided that ail
such dogs shall at all times while within the Town be kept under restraint,
C, Section 2 through 5 shall not apply to any dogs owned, harbored or kept upon land in
the Town of Lakeville used for agricultural purposes while such dogs are upon said land; provided
that if such dogs should be impounded while running at large upon land used other than for
agricultural purposes, their owners shall be required to pay the impounding fee in order to
reclaim the dog as provided in Section 14 although a license will not be required as a condition of
reclaiming the dog.
SECTION 18, Reports of Bite Cases, It shall be the duty of every physician or any other person to
report to the animal warden the names and addresses of persons treated for bites inflicted by
animals within the Town of Lakeville together with such other information as will be helpful in'
rabies control and the animal warden shall immediately inform the Health Officer of such report,
SECTION 19, Responsibilities of Veteranarians, It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian
to report to the animal warden his diagnosis of any animal within the Town of Lakeville observed
by him as a rabies suspect and the animal warden shall immediately inform the Health Officer of
such report,
SECTION 20, Penalties, Any person(s) who shall violate the terms or provisions of this ordiaance
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punishable by a fine of not more
than $100,00 or 90 days in the Dakota County Jaii,
SECTION 21, Validity, The invalidity of any part of this ordinance as declared by a court of
competent jurisdiction shall not effect the validity of the remainder thereof,
SECTION 22, Effective Date, This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its
passage and publication,
Adopted this 18th day of April, 1966.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
TOWN OF LAKEVILLE,
ATTEST:
Stanley E, Kolstad, Clerk Robert Jensen, Chairman