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Home My WebLink AboutLicensing of all Dogs within the Corporate Limits of City of South BendORDINANCE N0.30- � z Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Clerk of Common Council Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, FE Approved and signed by Clerk i ORDINANCE NO. 3562, (AMENDED) BE IT ORDAINED BY The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, that: SECTION 1. Definition of terms. As used in this ordinance, unless the context otherwise indicates, (a) "Dog "' shall be intended to mean both male and female. (b) "Owner" shall be intended to mean any person or persons, firm, association or corporation owning, keeping or harboring a dog. (c) "At large" shall be intended to mean off the premises of the owner, and not under the control of the owner or a member of his immediate family either by leash, cord, chain, or otherwise, SECTION " License and Rhg1stration Required. All dogs kept, harbored, or maintained by their owners in the City of South Bend shall be licensed and registered if over six months of age. Dog licensees shall be issued by the City Controller upon payment of a license,tax of $1000 per year provided, however, that no license shall be issued unless the owner shows, at the time it is requested, a certificate that the vaccination required by Section 11 hereafter has been made. The owner shall state at the time the application is made for such license and upon printed forms provided for such purposes, his name and address, and the name, breed, color and sex of each dog owned or kept by him. The provisions of this Section shall not be intended to apply to dogs whose owners are non - residents temporarily within the city, nor to dogs brought into the city for the purpose of par- ticipating in any dog show, nor "seeing -eye "' dogs properly trained to assist blind persons when such dogs are actually being used by blind persons for the purpose of aiding them in going from place to place. SECTION 3. Tag and Collar. Upon payment of the license fee, the Controller shall issue to the owner a license certificate and a metallic tag for each dog so licensed. The shape of the tag shall be changed every year and shall have stamped thereon the year for which it was issued and the number corresponding with the number on the certificate. Every owner shall be required to provide each dog with a collar to which the license tag must be affixed, and shall see that the collar and tag are constantly worn. In case a dog tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate will be issued by the Controller upon presentation of a receipt showing the payment of the license fee for the current year, and the payment of a fifty (50) cent fee for such duplicate. Dog tags shall not be transferable from one dog to another and no refunds shall be made on any dog license fee because of death of the dog or the owners leaving the city before expiration of the license period. SECTION 44 (AMENDED) Running at Large Prohibited During Certain Periods. No owner or keeper of any dog shall permit such dog to run at large if unlicensed, nor shall a dog be permitted to run at large at any time'during which the proclamation for which provision is made in Section 9 hereafter has been issued. AMENDMENT No owner or keeper of any licensed dog, shall permit such dog to run at large at any time during the period from May lst to October 1st, Dogs on leashes shall not be considered as running at large. No unlicensed dog shall.ever be permitted to run at large. Be it further enacted that pedesterians shall have the right of way in the use of sidewalks and such preference shall be granted them by owners and keepers;of dogs on leashes. SECTION 5. Impounding. Any dog found running at large contrary to the provisions of Section 4 of this ordinance. may be impounded in the city Pound or in some other I suitable place. The person in charge of the pound shall upon receiving any dog, make a complete registry entering the breed, color and sex of such dog and whether licensed. If licensed, the name and address of the owner and the number of the license tag shall be entered in the registry, SECTION 6. Notice to Owner and Redemption, Not later than five (5) days after the impounding of any dog the owner shall be notified, or if the owner of the dog is unknown, written notice shall be posted for three (3) days. Said notices shall describe the dog, and the place and time of taking. Notices shall be posted at a fire station nearest the point of taking, on the bulletin board in the main hall of the City Hall and at or near the Court House of 5t, Joseph County* The owner of any (2) dog so impounded may re -claim such dog upon payment of the license fee, if unpaid, and of all costs and charges incurred by the City of South Bend for impounding and maintaining of said dog. The following charges shall be paid to the person in charge of the pound for and on behalf of the City of South Bends for impounding any dog, $2.00; for keeping any dog, 5OX per day; for giving notice 38¢. SECTION 7. Disposition of Unclaimed or Infected Dogs. It shall be the duty of the poundmaster to keep all dogs so impounded for a period of six days, If at the expiration of six days from the date of notice to the owner or the posting of notice such dog shall not have been redeemed, it may be destroyed, Any unlicensed dog required by law to be licensed, or any dog which appears to be suffering from rabies or affected with hydrophobia, mange or other infectious or dangerous disease shall not be released but may be forthwith destroyed. SECTION 89 Confinement of Certain Dogs* No dog of fierce, dangerous or vicious propensities and no female dog in heat, whether licensed or not, shall be allowed to run at large or upon the premises of one other than the owner. If any such dog is found running at large in violation of this provision it shall be taken up and impounded and shall not be released except upon approval of the Chief of Police or a police officer designated by said Chief, after payment of the fees provided in Section 6; provided, however, that if any dangerous, fierce or vicious dog so found at large cannot be safely taken up and impounded, such dog may be slain by any policeman. SECTION 9. Rabies. Whenever it becomes necessary to safeguard the public from the dangers of hydrophobia, the City Health Officer, if he deems it necessary, shall issue a proclamation ordering every person owning or keeping a dog to confine it securely on his premises, and such proclama. tion shall remain effective until revoked by said City Health Officer, SECTION 10.. Rabies -- Notice, If a dog is believed to have rabies or has been bitten by a dog suspected of having rabies, such dog shall.be confined by a leash or chain on the owner's premises and shall.be placed under the observation of a veterinarian at the expense of the owner for a period of two weeks, The owner shall notify the poundmaster of the fact that his (3) dog has been exposed to rabies and at his discretion the poundmaster is empowered to have such dog removed from the owner's premises to a veterinary hospital and there placed under observation for a period of two weeks at the expense of the owner. It shall be unlawful for any person knowing or suspecting a dog has rabies to allow such dog to be taken off his premises or beyond the limits of the city without the written permission of the poundmaster, Every owner, or other person, upon ascertaining a dog is rabid shall immediately notify the poundmaster or a policeman who shall either remove the dog to the pound or summarily destroy it, SECTION 11, Vaccination, It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog to keep, maintain or allow such dog to run at large unless it shall. have been vaccinated by a licensed veterinary surgeon with anti - rabies vaccine„ within one year preceding the date on which such dog is kept, maintained or allowed to run at large, SECTION 14 Penalties, Any owner violating any provision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than $5.00 nor more than $25.00 for such offense. SECTION 13. Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances. All existing ordinances of the City of South Bend are hereby repealed insofar as they may be inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance. SECTION 14 Separability of Provisions, It is the intention of the City Council that each separate provision of this ordinance shall be deemed independent of all other provisions herein, and it is further the intention of the City Council that if any provision of this ordinance be declared invalid, all other provisions thereof shall remain valid and enforceable. SECTION 15. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Comnon Council, and its approval by the Mayor, i (4)