ORDINANCE NO. 07-593-2023 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 203.00 OF THE 1995 ORDINANCE CODE OF THE CITY OF KARLSTAD ENTITLED LICENSING AND REGULATING THE KEEPING OF DOGS AND CATS

ORDINANCE NO. 07-593-2023

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 203.00

OF THE 1995 ORDINANCE CODE OF

THE CITY OF KARLSTAD ENTITLED LICENSING

AND REGULATING THE

KEEPING OF DOGS AND CATS

The City Council of Karlstad, Minnesota ordains:

Section 1. Section 203.00 of the 1995 Ordinance Code of the City of Karlstad entitled Licensing and Regulating the Keeping of Dogs and Cats is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 203. 00

LICENSING AND REGULATING THE KEEPING OF DOGS AND CATS

Definitions. “Law Enforcement Officer’’ means any licensed peace officer with jurisdiction within the city limits of the City of Karlstad. “Domesticated animals” includes but are not limited to any animal commonly kept for house pets such as: dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs, ferrets, birds, and other similar animals, provided they are over the age of six ( 6) months. “Household” means all of the persons living together in a single-family dwelling, or in the case of a multi-family residential building, all of the people living together in one residential unit within that building.

Subd. 1. No person shall keep without a license or allow to run or be at large within the City any dog or cat in accordance with provisions of this ordinance.

Subd. 2. Every person who owns or keeps a dog or cat within the limits of this City, shall before the first day of May, cause each dog and cat to be registered, numbered, described and licensed for one year from the first day of May in the office of the Clerk-Treasurer, and shall cause such dog or cat to wear around its neck a collar with the owner’s name and its registered number and such owner or keeper to such dog or cat shall be required to pay an annual license fee, which shall be established at the January meeting of the Council each year.

Subd. 3. The Clerk-Treasurer shall issue all dog and cat licenses, receive the fee therefor and immediately pay the same into the City Treasury.

Subd. 4. The Clerk-Treasurer shall annually, on or before the 15th day of May, post in some conspicuous place in the said City, a list of all dogs and cats licensed for the current year and shall furnish a copy of such list to the applicable Law Enforcement Officer and shall thereafter, from time to time, furnish said Officer with a list of such dogs and cats as are subsequently licensed during the year.

Subd. 5. The owner or keeper of any dog or cat within this City may at any time have such dog or cat licensed by paying to the Clerk-Treasurer the sum provided by this ordinance.

Subd. 6. No person shall remove the collar from any dog or cat duly licensed under this ordinance.

Subd. 7 Any Law Enforcement Officer may impound any dog or cat found unlicensed or running at large and shall give notice of such impounding to the City, who shall then give notice to the owner of such dog or cat, if known. In case the owner is unknown, such City shall post notice at the pound and at City Hall that if the dog or cat is not claimed within forty-eight (48) hours after the posting of said notice (not counting weekends or holidays), it may be killed. If such dog or cat is not claimed within the time specified and all fees and charges paid, the pound master may kill such dog or cat and dispose of its carcass. The pound master shall house and feed in a humane manner any dog or cat held at the pound. A reasonable impounding fee and a daily charge for feeding shall be charged for any dog or cat held at the pound. If such dog or cat is unlicensed, it shall not be released until its license fee is paid as well as aforesaid charges to be paid. The Law Enforcement Officer impounding the animal may designate the pound where the animal is to be housed.

Subd. 8. Immunization. All applications for dog and cat licenses shall be accompanied by a current certificate of immunization for rabies signed by a veterinarian duly licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Minnesota, and stating (1) the owner’s name; (2) a description of the dog or cat; and (3) the date beyond which such immunization is not considered effective.

On or prior to the date of expiration of the effective immunization, the owner of the dog or cat shall file with the City a new certificate containing the same information as herein required.

Subd. 9. It shall be unlawful for any person to leave any dog or cat outdoors and unattended for a period of one-half an hour or longer, during such a period when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the City. Dogs and cats will be considered “outdoors” regardless of access to an outdoor doghouse or similar structure, unless the structure has an independent source of heat that is safe for use in outdoor structures and does not pose a danger to the animal. A vehicle shall not be considered an adequate shelter.

Subd. 10. Pet Limit. To ensure the public’s health, safety, and welfare, no household within the City of Karlstad shall house more than six ( 6) domesticated animals at one time, unless approved by the City Council.

Subd. 11. Barking/Nuisance Dog, It shall be the obligation and responsibility of the owner or custodian of any domestic animal in the City, whether permanently or temporarily therein, to prevent such animal from committing any act which constitutes a nuisance. Failure on the part of the owner or custodian to prevent its animal from committing an act of nuisance shall be subject to the penalty hereinafter provided. The following animals are hereby declared to be nuisances:

I. Any animal that snarls at persons, bites persons or other animals, or habitually exhibits vicious tendencies.

2. Any animal that chases vehicles or interferes with persons walking on public grounds, streets or highways.

3. Any animal that barks, bays, cries, howls, or makes any other noise continuously for a period of ten minutes at any time, or, between the hours of I 0PM-6AM.

4.Any animal which meets the definition of a dangerous dog or potentially dangerous dog as defined under Minnesota Statute§ 347.50, subd. 2-3 (2023).

Subd. 12. Penalty. Penalty for violation of any provision of this Section shall be governed by

Section 2000 of this Code.

Section 2. Repeal of existing 203.00. The foregoing ordinance, once enacted and passed, shall preplace previous Section 203.00 of the 1995 Ordinance Code of the City of Karlstad which previous code provisions are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect on the date following the date of publication of this ordinance. Following the publication of this ordinance in the manner prescribed by law, the City Clerk shall codify this ordinance within the City Code of the City of Karlstad.

Adopted by the City Council on September 5, 2023.

Dale Nelson, Mayor

Attested:

Shelby Fossell, City Clerk

Date of publication of this ordinance: September 21, 2023

(September 21, 2023)