LICENSING OF DOGS

12.10  REGULATION AND LICENSING OF DOGS. 

(3)  LICENSING OF DOGS.  (a)  License Required.  It shall be unlawful for any person in the Village to own, harbor or keep any dog more than 5 months of age without complying with the provisions of §§174.05 through 174.09, Wis. Stats., relating to the listing, licensing and tagging of the same.  There is hereby imposed a Village dog license tax, payable to the Village Clerk, for all dogs required to be licensed under the Wisconsin Statutes.

(6)  VICIOUS DOGS PROHBITED.  (a)  No person shall harbor or keep a vicious dog within the Village.  A dog is deemed to be vicious when it has attacked or bitten any person or when a propensity to attack or bit persons exists and is known or reasonably should be known to the owner.  Any vicious dog which is found off the premises of its owner may be seized by any police officer and, upon establishing to the satisfaction of a court the vicious character of such dog, may be destroyed.

(b)  Notwithstanding par. (a) above, a police officer may kill or tranquilize a vicious dog if he determines that it is necessary to take such action to prevent real and immediate personal injury to any person, including himself.

(10)  HOWLING DOGS.  No person shall own, keep, harbor or have in his possession any dog within the Village which, by frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking or other disturbing noise, individually or together offend the peace and quiet of persons of ordinary sensibilities, thereby causing a serious disturbance to persons or to the neighborhood.  Each day that such disturbance continues or occurs shall be a separate offense.

§ 190-26. Definitions. [Amended by Ord. No. 1-10]
The terms used in this article are defined as follows:

VICIOUS DOG
A. Any dog with a propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, cause injury or otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or other domestic animals as evidenced by its habitual or repeated chasing or snapping, or barking and/or snarling in a threatening manner.
B. Any dog which has attacked a human being or another domestic animal without provocation.
C. Any dog owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting or any dog trained for dog fighting.

 

(2)  REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS.  (a)  Leash and Muzzle.  No person owning, harboring or having the care of a vicious dog may suffer or permit such dog to go outside its kennel or pen unless the dog is securely leashed with a leash no longer than 4 feet in length.  No person may permit a vicious dog to be kept on a chain, rope or other type of leash outside its kennel or pen unless a person is in physical control of the leash.  The dog may not be leashed to inanimate objects such as trees, posts and buildings.  A vicious dog on a leash outside the dog’s kennel shall be muzzled by a muzzling device sufficient to prevent the dog from biting persons or other animals.  A vicious dog shall not be required to be muzzled when shown either in a sanctioned American Kennel Club show or upon prior approval of the Police Chief or his designee.

(b)  Confinement.  All vicious dogs shall be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel, except when leashed and muzzled as provided in par. (a) above.  The pen, kennel or structure shall have secure sides and a secure top attached to all sides.  A structure used to confine a vicious dog shall be locked with a key or combination lock when the dog is within the structure.  The structure shall have a secure bottom or floor attached to the sides of the pen, or the sides of the pen must be embedded in the ground no less than 2 feet.  All structures erected to house vicious dogs shall comply with a zoning and building regulations of the Village.  All structures shall be adequately lighted and ventilated and kept in a clean and sanitary condition.

(c)  Confinement Indoors.  No vicious dog may be kept on a porch, patio or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit the building on its volition.  No vicious dog may be kept in a house or structure when the windows are open or when screen windows or screen doors are the only obstacle preventing the dog from exiting the structure.

(d)  Prohibited in Multiple Dwellings.  No vicious dog may be kept within any portion of any multiple dwelling.

(e)  Signs.  All owners, keepers or harborers of vicious dogs  shall, within 15 days of the effective date of this section, display in a prominent place on their premises a sign easily readable by the public using the words “Beware of Dog.”  A similar sign is required to be posted on the kennel or pen of the dog.

(f)  Insurance.  All owners, keepers or harborers of vicious dogs shall, within 30 days of the effective date of this section, provide proof to the Police Chief or his designee of public liability insurance in a single incident amount of $50,000 for bodily injury to or death of any person or for the damage to property owned by any person which may result from the ownership, keeping or maintenance of vicious dogs.  The insurance policy shall provide that no cancellation of the policy will be made unless a 10 day written notice is first given to the Police Chief or his designee.  The owner or custodian of the dog shall produce evidence of the required insurance upon request of a law enforcement officer.  This paragraph does not apply to dogs kept by law enforcement agencies.