(a)   Every owner, keeper or harborer of any dog four (4) months of age shall annually register with the Animal Control Officer (as designated by the Chief of Police) his or her name and address with the name, sex and description of each dog owned, kept or harbored within the City. It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or harborer of any newly acquired dog or any dog brought into the City to fail to register such animal within thirty (30) days from the date of acquisition or bringing the dog into the City. It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or harborer of any previously registered dog to fail to maintain current registration of such dog.

(b)   Upon registration, the owner, keeper or harborer 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, keeper or harborer of any dog over four (4) months of age to fail to maintain effective rabies immunization of such dog.

(c)   The owner, keeper or harborer of any dog shall, at the time of registering such dog, present to the Animal Control Officer (as designated by the Chief of Police) 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 Animal Control Officer (as designated by the Chief of Police) shall collect an annual registration fee of $10.00 for each neutered male and spayed female dog, and $20.00 for each unneutered male and unspayed female dog.

(e)   The registration year shall be from January 1^st through December 31^st of each year. The fee shall be payable to before March 31st of each year without penalty.

(f)   Every owner, keeper or harborer of a dog or dogs who fail to renew their registration prior to the 31^st day of March of each year shall pay in addition to the registration fee herein provided a penalty for late registration of $15.00.

(g)   It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer (as designated by the Chief of Police), upon a current rabies immunization and receipt of the registration fee herein before required, to keep in a book suitable for the registration of dogs, the time of registration, the name of the owner, keeper or harborer, the number of the registration and the amount paid therefore, and shall deliver to the owner or harborer 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, keeper or harborer of the dog a tag with the registration number and the registration year thereon, which shall be, by the owner, keeper or harborer, attached to the collar to be used on the registered dog. When any tag has become lost during a registration period, the owner, keeper or harborer of the dog may request a duplicate tag for the remainder of the registration period. When so requested, the Animal Control Officer shall, upon presentation of the registration certificate, issue a duplicate of such tag upon the payment of a $1.00 fee. 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.

(h)   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.

(i)    It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or harborer 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 (2) years, when requested by the animal control officer or any law enforcement officer.

(j)    The provisions of this article with respect to registration shall not apply to any dog owned, kept or harbored by any person visiting or temporarily remaining within the City for less than thirty (30) days. However, such dogs shall be kept under restraint by the owner, keeper or harborer thereof at all times.

(k)   Violation and fine. Any violation of any part of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $35.00 but not more than $100.00 for each offense plus applicable court costs.

(Ord. 2018-07; Ord. 2018-11; Code 2021)

(a)   It shall be unlawful for any person to own or keep a dog which runs at large in the City. Knowledge or acquiescence by the owner or keeper is not an element of the offense. An animal shall not be deemed to be running at large if:

(1)   The animal is firmly attached to a leash or chain under the physical control of its owner or keeper; or

(2)   The animal is within a structure or within a fence enclosure with the permission of the owner or keeper of the structure or fence enclosure; or

(3)   The animal has an operating electronic collar and is under the charge, care or control, or its owner or keeper who is operating an electronic pet containment system or electronic training system for the animal. Notwithstanding this subsection, all animals on the public right-of-way whether a street, lane, by-way, sidewalk, park, public place, private business, or private property other than that owned by the owner of the animal, must be kept on a leash or chain under the physical control of its owner or keeper.

(b)   Any animal on property without the permission of the property owner shall be deemed to be an animal at large and the owner of such animal shall be in violation of this section.

(c)   The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons who have a physical disability or visual impairment, who are using service dogs, and can provide adequate documentation, upon demand of an animal control officer or law enforcement officer, that the service dog is an animal trained by an accredited institution which trains dogs for service work for the physically disabled or visually impaired.

(d)   The City’s dog shelter, veterinarian, or other impoundment facility shall not release an animal to an owner if the owner has failed to pay a fine, the applicable court costs, impoundment fees, and veterinary charges or has failed to appear in municipal court for the adjudication of a violation of this section.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

It shall be a separate municipal offense for any person to receive four (4) or more citations for violation of section 2-202 within a twenty-four (24) month consecutive period. Such person shall be cited as a habitual violator. 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 2-202 for a specific citation issued under section 2-202.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

An officer may pursue and capture any dog found to be running at large as defined in section 2-202 of this article. The officer shall have the authority to enter upon private property to effectuate capture. However, the officer shall not enter into any structure located upon private property.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

A dog found running at large within the corporate limits of the city, contrary to the provisions of section 2-202 may be taken up by the officer or brought in by a member of the public and may be impounded at the City dog shelter, veterinarian, or other impoundment facility. The officer shall make a record of all dogs so impounded with their description, date of impoundment and rabies vaccination number. If, within seventy-two (72) hours from the date any dog is impounded and the owner of such dog shall appear and claim his or her dog, said dog may be released upon payment of the following fees:

(a)   Impoundment fee for the first twenty-four (24) hour period or any part thereof in any consecutive twelve (12) months:

(1)   First pickup and release - $20.00;

(2)   Second pickup and release - $20.00; plus an additional fee of $10.00 if the animal is not spayed or neutered.

(3)   Third pickup and release - $30.00; plus an additional fee of $15.00 if the animal is not spayed or neutered.

(4)   Each subsequent pickup and release - $40.00; plus an additional fee of $20.00 if the animal is not spayed or neutered.

Owners may seek a refund of the additional fee if proof that the animal was spayed or neutered is presented to the City within thirty (30) days of release of the animal.

(b)   Board Fee: Fifteen dollars ($15.00) for each additional twenty-four (24) hour period or any part thereof beyond the initial twenty-four (24) hour period to pay the cost of keeping the animal. If any animal so impounded is not claimed by the owner thereof within three (3) business days of the date of such impounding, such animal shall become the property of the City of Frontenac or other impoundment facility. The above described costs for impounding and keeping such animal will be due and payable to the City for any animal claimed by an owner after the three (3) business day period. All impounding fees shall be paid to the City and no animal shall be released until the owner proves the animal is currently immunized against rabies.

(c)   Impoundment, redemption, and disposition of agriculture animals shall comply with the Kansas Department of Agriculture regulations for livestock as follows:

No person shall permit an agricultural animal to run at large in the city. Any agricultural animal found at large shall be impounded until redeemed by its owner. Owners or their authorized agents, if known, shall be notified within 24 hours of impoundment that they have 10 days within which to claim such animals and to pay all actual costs for taking up, keeping, and feeding of such animals. If not redeemed within 10 days, the animal may be advertised in the newspaper or taken to a livestock market and sold to the highest bidder for cash. The proceeds, after deducting the amount of the costs of impoundment, shall be paid to the owner of the agriculture animal or the owner’s authorized agent. If the owner or the owner’s authorized agent is not known or cannot be located, the proceeds remaining after the payment of actual costs shall be paid to the county treasurer. Such funds shall be deposited by the county treasurer in the county’s special stray fund provided for in K.S.A. 47-239, and amendments thereto. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the destruction of a critically injured or ill animal for humane purposes.

(Ord. 2018-07; Ord. 2018-11; Code 2021)

It is hereby made the duty of the animal control officer, or anyone having the authority of animal control officer, including but not limited to law enforcement officers, to enforce the terms and provisions of this chapter. The officer is authorized to issue citations to the owner of and/or impound any dog or other animal found in violation of the terms of this chapter. The Chief of Police may designate persons to be known as an animal control officer, whose duties it shall be to assist in the enforcement of this chapter.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

No person shall own within the city limits any dog which by loud, long, and continued noise, frequent and habitual barking, howling or yelping for prolonged periods of time by day or night, shall annoy or disturb the peace and quiet of any person or family within the City. This shall be designated and referred to as “Barking Dog” violation.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

The owner of any animal shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to the penalties prescribed herein if any such animal damages private property not belonging to the owner.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

(a)   Owner Known. Upon receipt of notification from a duly licensed practitioner of medicine or registered nurse that an animal bite incident has occurred, the officer shall make reasonable effort to contact the owner of the animal involved in the incident and advise the owner to place the animal immediately with a regularly licensed and practicing veterinarian of the owner’s choice for a confinement period of a minimum of ten (10) days from the time of the occurrence of the bite. The exact period of confinement may be longer than ten (10) days at the discretion of the veterinarian selected and the owner shall be liable for all such costs incurred.

(b)   Failure to Comply. Any owner who shall fail to comply with the provisions of this section, within twenty-four (24) hours or one (1) business day of notification, shall be deemed in violation of this section and the officer shall take such animal into custody and commit it for the above described confinement period.

(c)   Owner Unknown. Biting animals for which an owner cannot be located shall be taken into custody by the animal control officer and confined for observation. If the bite to the victim is on the neck or head, or if the animal is behaving strangely or is ill, the animal shall be held for twenty-four (24) hours before euthanized. If the bite to the victim is not on the neck or head, and if the animal is not behaving strangely or is not ill, the animal shall be held for three days before euthanized. If the owner seeks to claim the animal, the provisions of subsection (a) shall govern the confinement of the animal. Should such animal become ill, die or is euthanized within the confinement period, the bite victim or victim’s representative shall be notified and the City shall direct further management of the animal or animal remains. If the animal is alive and well at the end of the confinement period, the bite victim or victim’s representative shall be notified, and the animal shall become the property of the impoundment facility or the City of Frontenac.

(d)   State Law. Kansas Administrative Regulations (K.A.R.) 28-1-13, and amendments thereto, shall be followed concerning the isolation of biting animals for observation, examination and quarantine, unless the provisions of this section require more stringent procedures.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)

Any person convicted of the violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to the penalty provisions of Article 4 as hereinafter set out.

(Ord. 2018-07; Code 2021)