Minto City Ordinances
ORDINANCE #174
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE LICENSING AND CONTROL OF DOGS AND CATS; PROHIBITING DOGS AND CATS FROM RUNNING AT LARGE WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF MINTO, NORTH DAKOTA; AUTHORIZING THE IMPOUNDING AND DESTRUCTION OF CERTAIN DOGS AND CATS; AND PROVIDING PENALTY.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MINTO, NORTH DAKOTA:
Section One: Definitions.
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein unless context indicates otherwise:
Dog or Cat means either male or female dog or cat.
Owner means any person or persons, firms, associations or corporations owing, keeping or harboring a dog or cat.
At large means off the premises of the owner and not in the immediate presence and under the control of the owner or a member of his immediate family.
Section Two: Dog and cat license required.
No dog or cat, either male or female, which is more than 90 days of age, shall be owned, kept, harbored or maintained within the limits of the City of Minto, North Dakota, unless and until a license has been obtained for such dog or cat as hereinafter provided.
Section Three: Dog and cat license application, fees, requirements and restrictions.
Every person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a dog or cat which is more than 90 days old within the limits of the City of Minto, North Dakota, shall immediately upon the 91st day of life of such dog or cat or as soon as said dog or cat is brought into the City for the purpose of being harbored, maintained or kept therein by such person, make application for a license.
Applications for the dog or cat license shall be made to the City Auditor or Animal Warden and shall give the following information:
Name and address of the applicant.
Description of the dog or cat for which license is applied for including breed, color, age, sex, name and distinguishing marks.
Date of last rabies vaccination and name and address of the veterinarian who administered the same.
At the time the application for license is submitted by the owner or keeper of any dog or cat, a license fee shall be tendered to the City Auditor or Animal Warden. Fees shall be $5.00 for each dog and $3.00 for each cat.
At the time the application for license is submitted, if the dog or cat is over the age of six months, the applicant shall also furnish to the City Auditor or Animal Warden a certificate executed by a licensed veterinarian showing the dog or cat has been vaccinated against rabies. The vaccination should be within one year of the date of the application if the vaccine used was phenolized vaccine or within three years of the date of application if the vaccine used was evianized vaccine.
After investigation, if the application is determined valid and proper, it is within the authority of the City Auditor or Animal Warden to issue a license to the applicant to keep and maintain the dog or cat with the limits of the City of Minto, North Dakota.
Section Four: Dog or cat license expiration and renewal.
Each license for a dog or cat shall expire on the first day of July after the issuance thereof.
Every person owning, keeping or maintaining a licensed dog or cat who desires to renew the license shall, not less than five days or more than fifteen days before the expiration date of the current license, make application to the City Auditor or Animal Warden for a renewal license. The renewal application shall be made in the same process as the original application as provided for in Section Three. All renewal licenses shall be for a term of one year, commencing on the first day of July.
Section Five: Dog or cat license - failure to pay, surrender.
In case of failure of owner or keeper to pay the license fee, the dog or cat shall be surrendered to the Animal Warden for the purpose of being destroyed.
Section Six: Dog and cat register to be kept.
It is hereby made the duty of the City Auditor or Animal Warden to register and charge the owner or keeper of each dog and cat within the city limits of the City of Minto, North Dakota the appropriate fees as provided in Section Three. The register shall be kept in a listing book or books to be prepared at the expense of the City and furnished to the City Auditor or the Animal Warden. The register shall include the name of owner or keeper, street address where the dog or cat is kept, sex of dog or cat, color and description of dog or cat, and license fee for dog or cat.
Section Seven: Metal tag or badge issued to owner or keeper.
Upon payment of the license fee, the City Auditor or Animal Warden shall provide a receipt for the fee and a metal tag or badge to mark the dog or cat. Tags shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with the number one.
Section Eight: Metal tag to be fastened to dog or cat.
Every dog or cat shall where a neck collar which the metal tag or badge provided by the City upon payment of license has been securely fastened.
Section Nine: Dogs and cats at large considered a nuisance.
Any dog or cat running or being at large in or on any of the streets, public ways, public property, or on the private premises of any other person than the owner or keeper of the dog or cat shall be deemed and considered a public nuisance.
Section Ten: Impounding.
It shall be the duty of the Animal Warden to apprehend each and every dog or cat running or being at large and to impound the dog or cat in the City Pound or other suitable place provided by the City. The Animal Warden, upon receiving the dog or cat, shall make a complete registry including the breed, color and sex of the dog or cat, whether licensed, and the place and time of taking. If licensed, the name and address of the owner and number of the license tag shall also be entered.
Section Eleven: Redeeming impounded dog or cat.
No later than three days after the impounding of any dog or cat, the owner, shall be notified by the City Auditor or another member of the City Council by personal telephone call or written notice in order to permit the owner or keeper to redeem the dog or cat. If the owner is unknown, the person designated by the City Council shall post for three days at three or more conspicuous places in the City of Minto a notice describing the dog or cat and the place and time of taking. Within three days of notifying the owner or keeper or the posting of the notice, the owner or keeper of the dog or cat shall pay to the City of Minto any license fees, penalty fees and boarding fees applicable before the dog or cat is returned to them. License fees are provided for in Section Three and penalty fees are provided for in Section Eighteen. If the dog or cat has not been redeemed by its owner or keeper within three days of notification or the posting of the notice, the Animal Warden shall have the dog or cat destroyed or, at their discretion, delivered to any person not a resident of the City of Minto upon payment of the applicable fees.
Section Twelve: Disposition of unclaimed or infected dog or cat.
It is the duty of the Animal Warden to keep each impounded dog or cat for a period of six days, after which, if the dog or cat remains unclaimed, it shall be destroyed. If any dog or cat appears to be suffering from rabies, affected with hydrophobia, mange, or other infectious or dangerous disease, or if any dog or cat should be known to have bitten a human being to the extent of breaking the skin, it shall not be destroyed or released for at least 14 days in order to determine whether or not the dog or cat has rabies.
Section Thirteen: Vicious dogs or cats to be delivered to the Animal Warden.
It is hereby declared unlawful for the owner or keeper of any vicious dog or cat within the City to refuse to deliver the dog or cat to the Animal Warden whenever requested by such person for the purpose of being destroyed.
Section Fourteen: Destroying of vicious dogs or cats.
Any dangerous or vicious dog or cat, upon being delivered to the Animal Warden, shall be destroyed. If any dog or cat of fierce, dangerous or vicious propensities is found running at large and cannot be safely taken up and impounded, then it shall be the duty of the Animal Warden to kill the dog or cat in order to abate a public nuisance.
Section Fifteen: Setting of dogs or cats at large prohibited.
It shall be unlawful for any person to open any door or gate of any private premise or to otherwise entice or enable any dog or cat to leave any private premise for the purpose of setting the dog or cat at large.
Section Sixteen: Restrictions on keeping barking and annoying dogs or cats.
No owner or keeper of a dog or cat within the City of Minto, whether a license has been obtained for such dog or cat or not, shall permit the dog or cat to harass, annoy, disturb, or endanger the person or property of any person. It is presumed that any dog or cat which barks, howls, whines, or makes other disagreeable noise at persons or things or which chases vehicles or causes any other disturbance to any person is a nuisance.
Section Seventeen: Breaking into dog or cat pound or hindering an officer.
It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person to break open or attempt to break open the City dog pound or any other enclosure in which the Animal Warden has placed an impounded dog or cat, or to take or let out any dog or cat from the dog pound. It shall be unlawful to take or attempt to take an impounded dog or cat from any officer or agent of the City Council of the City of Minto, or to interfere with or hinder such officer in the discharge of his duties under this Ordinance.
Section Eighteen: Penalties.
Any person violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25.00 upon the first violation, and $45.00 upon any further violations. Any license fees, penalty fees and boarding fees for an impounded dog or cat must be paid before the dog or cat will be released to its owner or keeper.
Section Nineteen: License fees, penalties and other collections turned over to City Auditor.
All moneys collected for licenses, penalties, and other fees shall be turned over to the City auditor and shall be deposited into and become part of the General Fund of the City of Minto, North Dakota.
Section Twenty: Separation of provisions.
It is the intention of the City Council of the City of Minto, North Dakota that each separate provision of this Ordinance shall be deemed independent of all other provisions and if any provision of this Ordinance be declared invalid, all other provisions shall remain valid and enforceable.
Section Twenty-one: Effective date.
This ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after its passage and its approval by the City Council for the City of Minto, North Dakota.
Passed on its first reading: January 6, 2003.
Passed on its second reading: February 3, 2003.
Approved on: February 3, 2003
