Go to Jail, Go Directly to Jail!
Here’s the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the new ordinance. You may notice a recurring theme (hint: check the title above). While any violation of this law can result in civil penalties from $150 to $1,000 Animal Control Officers also have the discretionary option of pressing criminal charges as a ‘Class B Misdemeanor.’ And there are also 15 provisions which carry higher criminal penalties for a first violation!
In addition, a “second or subsequent violation” of any provision will result in a criminal charge of ‘Class A Misdemeanor’ the fine for which is $500 and up to 12 month’s of jail time. And “each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.” We’re talking some serious money and jail time here, not to mention a police record.
And for what? Well, taking your intact dog on your family vacation and failing to inform MAS. Letting your cat outside without its license tag. Your dog biting an intruder in your own home. We’re not making this up.
This new ordinance does nothing to solve Louisville’s dangerous dog problem. In fact, the ‘Dangerous Dog’ provisions of the new law are nearly identical to that of the old Chapter 91 ordinance, which MAS and City officials claimed was inadequate. So, what changed?
Well, you’re now a criminal just waiting to be discovered, that’s what! Decent, law-abiding citizens are now forced to live in a near police-state, subject to the total discretion of one person: the Director of MAS. He has complete and unfettered discretion as to how this law is enforced, who pays a fine, who goes to jail, whose dog is determined to be ‘Dangerous’ or ‘Potentially Dangerous’, whose pets get seized.
The law plays ‘Russian Roulette’ with your life, your personal property and your pocketbook. Your dog license might cost you as little as $4.50, or as much as $500. You might be a criminal, and you might not. You might get to keep your pets, or you might lose them all.
This law makes it a financial gamble as to whether or not your now-mandatory 6-foot fence will meet an undefined standard of acceptability to the Director of MAS or whether your neighbors might decide to call and complain about your pets being a nuisance.
Read it and weep…….
Abandonment: If you pasture your horse or beef cattle and don’t check on them every 24 hours (regardless of whether they have an automatic water supply and plenty of feed), you have officially abandoned them. There is no exemption for agricultural provisions to this portion of the statute. If found guilty, you could be subject to criminal penalties, fined $500, subject to jail time and you lose all your animals.
Animal Dealer: If you sell more than one animal or litter a year, or sell any animal to a pet shop, you are an animal dealer. However, even if you sell only one litter per year or an occasional pet, but have more than one intact animal on your property—even if it’s a different species--you’re considered an animal dealer. If you sell domestic pets your yearly license fee will be $300.
Attack: Any unprovoked attack on a human that causes a scratch or bruising. Played with a kitten or puppy lately? Ever had an over-protective parent get hysterical that your dog’s toenail scratched little Timmy’s arm while he was playing with your kids in your yard?
Dangerous Dog: Any dog which is declared to be Dangerous by the Director of Animal Control, or that has attacked a person or other animal, unprovoked. This gives the Director of Animal Control unfettered discretion to decide your dog is ‘Dangerous’ whether or not it’s ever exhibited any such behavior. Got a Dangerous dog? That’ll be a $500 annual fee and you better have an approved enclosure or your dog will be seized.
Enclosures: If your dog is altered, your fence has to be of “sufficient height and construction to prevent the animal from leaving” your property or it can be an invisible fence. However, if your dog is intact, forget the invisible fence! Enclosures: If your dog is intact, it is automatically considered a “potentially dangerous dog” and you must construct a fence “at least six feet in height, installed beneath ground level or in concrete or pavement” and post a “DANGEROUS DOG” sign at the entrance to your property. Even if the dog you own is a Chihuahua! If you don’t comply with all these procedures, your dog will be impounded and will not be released, plus you’ll be fined $150 to $1,000. Oh, and the provision doesn’t specify any fencing materials or construction methods—you just have to build it and pray to God it meets the Director’s approval!
Exotic Species: Any animal (other than fish and non-venomous reptiles) whose native habitat is outside of the U.S. All parrots, parakeets, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, etc. fall under this definition, but not poultry. If you sell any exotic species, you are required by law to keep on file for three years the following information for inspection by MAS: 1) the animal’s point of origin, 2) complete veterinary history including all vaccinations, diseases and treatment, 3) the date you came into ownership of the animal and, 4) the date you sold it, the name, address and contact information of the person who purchased it. Failure to do so can result in a Class B Misdemeanor charge, possible jail time and a criminal record.
Nuisance: Includes “any act of any animal or its owner that irritates or perturbs….the general public”. No definition of ‘irritate or perturb’ is given, only a few examples which are stated to be not limiting or defining, but include allowing your animal to “habitually bark” or “mew” or “whine” or chase “passers-by, vehicles, domestic pets or livestock”. Read that carefully! If you have a pet, YOU can be cited for irritating or perturbing someone as well as your pet! Have a neighbor who hates your dog or cat or you? Let’s say your neighbor’s child falsely accuses your dog of having bitten him. MAS shows up and impounds your dog. They quarantine it for 10 days. Meanwhile, the kid admits it wasn’t your dog that bit him, but his own dog. You go to MAS to get your dog back. Oops! They euthanized it by mistake. A sad but true story. Because there is no definition of “irritate or perturb” and this section allows unnamed persons to accuse you, this section is ripe for abuse, and so far most of the complaints we have had about enforcement of this law have been over this provision. Oh, and you have to pay $225 for quarantine, plus additional fines and possible jail time.
Potentially Dangerous Dog: Any dog which unprovoked and in an ‘aggressive manner’, bites scratches or bruises a person or other animal as well as any dog that the Director decides is Potentially Dangerous. Ever been around a hysterical parent who alleged that your dog or cat ‘attacked’ their child and scratched him when they were just playing? This gives the Director of Animal Control unfettered discretion to decide your dog is ‘Potentially Dangerous’ whether or not it’s ever exhibited any such behavior. Recently, Animal Control Officers were in a south end neighborhood and decided to stop at a house with a Golden Retriever in the yard. They came at the dog with a pole, and the dog barked and growled at them. They told the owner that the dog was “mean” and they would have to do something about it. Got a Potentially Dangerous dog? That’ll be a $250 annual fee, not to mention the Class A Misdemeanor charge!
Restraint: You cannot take your unaltered or Potentially Dangerous dog to the off-leash dog park section of any Kentucky or Metro Park. If your dog is deemed to be Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous, it must be muzzled at all times when it is off your property. All intact, Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous dogs cannot be on a leash longer than four feet in length. (Too bad if you’re 6 feet tall and own an un-spayed miniature poodle!) If you don’t comply with all these procedures, your dog will be impounded and shall not be released, and you can face jail time for up to 12 months!
If your altered and licensed dog is found to be ‘unrestrained’ and is picked up by MAS, you will be issued a warning. Unrestrained also means walking it off-leash! If it’s found unrestrained twice, they will impound your dog, and you’ll be looking at a year in jail, plus you could lose all your pets and the right to own any animals for 2 years!
Theatrical Exhibit: Any act or exhibit that features performing animals (but does not include certain dog, cat or horse shows). Flyball, frisbee dog, herding and hunting demonstrations, rodeos, bull riding events, etc. require permission and a $125 permit, so does having pony rides at your kid’s birthday party.
Wild Animal: Definition includes any sort of hybrid animal (do you own a domestic Bengal cat or a ‘Zorse’?) they are considered to be ‘wild’ under this definition and that’s a $125 permit, thanks very much.
91.003: Any female dog or cat in heat must be confined at all times so as not to come in contact with “any other animal” except for a planned breeding. If you have two pets, one intact and one altered, they cannot legally be together until your intact female is no longer in heat. If they do, you can be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor —even if they’re both females, or if one is a dog and the other a cat!
91.0201 Unaltered Dog: Unless you qualify as a Class A or B Kennel, no person shall “own or possess, or buy, sell, or trade or otherwise transfer ownership or possession of an unaltered dog” which has not been registered and received a permit. Further, in order to register/permit an unaltered dog, you must provide the name and address of the owner or person in possession of the dog, disclose where the dog will reside, and provide a certification from your veterinarian that the dog has been microchipped. And, every year when you renew, you have to provide all that information again. If you don’t comply with all these procedures, your dog will be impounded and shall not be released. Oh, and you’ll be subject to $500 criminal fine and jail time.
In addition, you cannot move your unaltered dog from its registered primary location for more than 3 days without notifying the Director of Animal Control. If your dog is lost or stolen, you must immediately notify the Director of Animal Control. You cannot sell or give away your dog without notifying the Director of Animal Control. You cannot take your dog on vacation with your family without notifying the Director of Animal Control. If your dog is boarded, left at the vets office or groomer, you must notify the Director of Animal Control when you drop it off and again when you pick it up because the “person in possession” of the dog has changed. If you don’t comply with all these procedures, your dog will be impounded and will not be released. Further, you’ll be looking at criminal penalties, a minimum $500 fine plus up to a year in jail!
Last, while your altered dog gets a “license,”your intact dog gets a “permit”. What’s the difference? Well, you license things you own, and get permits for things you don’t—this is an insidious way to take away your personal property rights and tell you that you don’t “legally” own your dog. By owning an intact dog you have fewer rights than a convicted sex offender!
91.023 Vaccinations: “Any animal which is sold, traded or otherwise removed from a kennel or cattery must be re-vaccinated against rabies….and relicensed by MAS”. So, if you sell a 6-month old kitten that was just vaccinated for rabies at 4 months of age, it must be re-vaccinated and re-licensed. This is not acceptable veterinary practice, nor is it safe for your animal or even necessary! But if you don’t comply—Class B Misdemeanor offense!
Any dog, cat or ferret that is taken outside the home must wear its rabies tag at all times unless it is participating in a dog or cat show or a field or hunting trial, and then the owner must have the tag or vaccination certificate on them at all times. If your animal is found without its tag, you’re subject to a minimum $150 civil fine—if the Animal Control Officer is in a forgiving mood. If not, you’re looking at 90 days in jail and Class B Misdemeanor charges! Wouldn’t it be nice if real criminals got this sort of attention?
91.025 Certain Sales of Animals Prohibited: If you are required to have a Sellers Permit to sell your animals, you must include the permit number in every ad you run. If you don’t, you’re breaking the law. If someone buys an animal from you without first making sure you have a permit, they’re breaking the law, too. If you violate this provision, the animal/s may be impounded; you and the buyer/s of your animal/s will ALL be subject to fines from $150 to $1,000 or criminal penalties. If multiple animals are involved, it could result in forfeiture of all animals and a prohibition against owning any animal for two years, due to the ‘two strikes’ provision.
If you try to buy or sell a dog that the Director has declared to be a Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous dog, you need his written permission to do so. If you don’t comply, the animal may be impounded, and you’ll be subject to fines from $150 to $1,000 if you’re lucky. If you’re not, you’ll be doing jail time.
91.030 Number of Dogs on Residentially Used Property: No more than 3 dogs shall be housed outdoors on lots under a half-acre in size; no more than 7 dogs on lots between one-half and two acres in size unless you have obtained a Class A, B or C Kennel License. Now, does that mean you can have more dogs than that if they’re housed indoors? The ordinance is unclear on this. Just know that if you violate it—fines from $150 to $1,000 at a minimum—even up to 90 days in jail.
91.035 Impoundment: Before any impounded pet is returned to its owner, you must be able to furnish proof that it is microchipped, current on rabies and standard vaccinations and clear of internal parasites. Otherwise a voucher will be issued for these procedures and the owner must provide evidence of compliance within the time period on the voucher. If your intact dog was impounded, it must also be spayed or neutered before it can be reclaimed. That’s $78 minimum, plus $15 per day boarding and minimum $100 spay/neuter voucher. Don’t forget that this counts as a first strike, and you could face Class B Misdemeanor charges as well.
Any person charged with any violation who has their animal impounded, shall pay all board and redemption fees as well as all veterinary fees and “associated charges” of keeping their pet at MAS. If your altered dog or cat was wearing its license tag at the time it was picked up, you’re only liable for one-half the regular redemption and boarding fees. If your animals are impounded for any reason twice within a five-year period, all your animals will be confiscated and you will be forbidden from owning any pet for a period of two full years, plus be subject to fines from $150 to $1,000 and possible criminal prosecution.
91.037 Quarantine of Animals: “Any animal (excluding wildlife) which has bitten or scratched a human being shall be quarantined for ten days from the time the bite or scratch occurs.” If you cannot quarantine the animal on your property (meaning it has no contact with any animal or person for 10 days), then MAS will seize your pet and quarantine it for you (although they have no room to do this), and charge you boarding fees for doing so. And, if your animal isn’t microchipped when they take it, it will be when you get it back and you get to pay for that as well. That’s a criminal penalty of $500, possible jail time, plus $225 quarantine fees, plus the microchip, and if it’s a dog, you’d best hope they don’t decide it’s dangerous as well or that’ll add another $500 to your total. True story: recently, a couple had two small dogs that got into a scrap in their kitchen. Not thinking, the husband reached down to grab one of the dogs and break it up. One of the dogs bit him. He went to his doctor to get the bite looked at. Next thing he knew, MAS was at his door, demanding to quarantine the vicious dog that had attacked him.
91.038 Issuance of Citations; Violation Notices: Should Animal Control find your dog kept on a chain or tether in violation of the restraint order (see 91.051), they can post a notice on your fence. You have one hour to realize that a notice has been posted and take your dog off its tether or they can come back and impound your dog plus you’ll be subject to fines from $150 to $1,000—or Class A Misdemeanor charges and up to a year of jail time!
The owner of any dog or cat who is cited and found guilty of violating the restraining provisions or whose animal/s is/are impounded for violation of the restraining provision shall have the animal spayed or neutered within seven days of the second conviction. Plus, you’ll be subject to a fine from $150 to $1,000 or Class B Misdemeanor charges. And that is if you are lucky enough to get your animal back. MAS has the option of confiscating all your animals at that point and forbidding you from owning any pet for 2 years.
91.040 Reporting of Animal Bites and Attacks Required: “In addition to physicians, every veterinarian, peace officer, animal control officer, court official, animal welfare group, clinic, hospital or any establishment providing health care services, shall be subject to the reporting requirements of KRS 258.065. (That KRS statute reads: “Every physician shall, within twelve (12) hours after his first professional attendance of a person bitten by a dog, cat, ferret or other animal report to the local health department the name, age, sex, and precise location of the person so bitten.) What’s wrong with this? Well, Animal Control has no authority to regulate veterinarians or court officials or compel them to comply with a state statute that only applies to physicians. But, if they don’t comply, they could be subject to fines up to $1,000 per incident—or criminal charges!
91.042 Reporting Sales and Gifts of Ferrets, Dogs, Cats, Puppies and Kittens: Within ten days of selling or giving away any dog, cat or ferret (of any age), you must notify MAS in writing of the name, address and the contact information of the person who bought or received the animal, as well as a description of the animal. If you don’t comply, you will be subject to fines from $150 to $1,000—or criminal charges!
91.050 Provision of Necessities: “No owner shall fail to provide….protection from the weather. Shelters shall be constructed to protect the animal from precipitation and of a material which provides insulation from temperature extremes. The shelter shall have a floor which is dry and constructed of a material which provides insulation or the floor augmented with resting boards.” Again, there is no exemption for pastured livestock from this regulation. If you don’t comply, you will be subject to criminal penalties of $500 minimum and perhaps jail time—or Class A Misdemeanor charges!
91.051 Restraint by Leash, or Chain, or Collar; Specifications: It is illegal to restrain any dog by a fixed-point chain or tether between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm; and for more than one hour in any 8-hour period. If you don’t comply, you will be facing criminal fines of $500 and jail time.
91.052 Abandonment: Any animal found “not under restraint without a license or vaccination tag” will be considered abandoned and will be seized. That means if you take your dog next door to visit your neighbor without its tagged collar or a leash, even though you’re standing beside it, it can be declared ‘abandoned’ and seized. If you don’t comply, you will be subject to $500 criminal penalties and jail time.
91.054 & 91.059 Cruelty and Mutilation: The definition of cruelty includes “ill-treatment and torment”. As this ordinance was written to please the HSUS, their definition of cruelty would apply to all laboratory animals and those being used for medical research. It could also apply to veterinarians who dock ears and tails, or perform similar procedures—and not just on cats and dogs. This provision does not exempt hunting dogs, veterinarians or universities or research facilities. Similarly, 91.059 exempts slaughterhouses and taxidermists, but not vets or research facilities which, if stretched to the limits the animal extremists would like us to adopt, consider using mouse traps to be ‘cruelty’ and the removal of dew claws on a hunting dog to be ‘mutilation’. Oh, and this is another one subject to Class A Misdemeanor charges, $500 fine and jail time, not to mention forfeiture of any animal involved or in the vicinity.
91.057 Offering Animal as Prize or Award: “No person shall sell, adopt, or otherwise give away, or offer to sell, adopt or give away animals from any location other than their personal residence or business.” No more box of kittens outside Kroger or Greyhound Rescue Day at the mall. If you do, you’re subject to criminal penalty, $250 fine and up to 90 days of jail time. Really, you’re such a gangsta—stop it!
91.062 Confiscation of Victimized Animal: If an animal is deemed to be a victim of abuse—for whatever reason—it will be seized and MAS will keep it. They will charge you a minimum of $450 per month per animal for keeping your animal while you await trial, and you must post a bond. If you are “found innocent” your bond will be returned to you. Only problem is, nobody is ever found “innocent”—you’re either guilty or not guilty. Criminal charges apply!
91.079 Pet Shops: The purchaser of every dog, cat or ferret shall be given a complete copy of the Chapter 91 ordinance as well as an application for a pet license. If not, get fined $150 to $1,000—or face Class B Misdemeanor charges!
91.097 Waiver: The owner of any dog, cat or ferret “placed for sale, adoption or placement” must document: 1) the origin of the animal. If acquired from a private party, it must include the name, address and telephone number of the previous owner or kennel/shelter; if from a kennel, the name of the owner of the kennel; if from a shelter it must state, if a stray, where it was picked up and by whom; if it was an owner turn-in, the name and address of the previous owner. 2) if the animal originated in Jefferson County, you must also provide the kennel or dealer license number of the seller of the animal, or the license number of the female cat/dog/ferret which was the dam of the litter; if outside of Jefferson County, the state and/or USDA license number of the seller you acquired the animal from; if outside of Kentucky, the USDA license number of the seller you acquired the animal from. Further, all ads you place to sell your animals must contain YOUR seller permit number or you must provide proof that you are exempt from requiring one. Now, that was easy, wasn’t it? If not, you know the drill: get fined from $150 to $1,000—or face Class B Misdemeanor charges!
91.110 Dangerous Dogs and Potentially Dangerous Dogs: “No dog shall commit an attack or severe attack as previously defined.” The dog may be impounded and the owner cited. There follows a list of exemptions (reasons it’s okay for your dog to attack, such as someone is attacking you and your dog defended you, or your dog was provoked, etc.) One of the exemptions is that it’s okay for your dog to attack someone entering your property for the purposes of committing “burglary, assault or other crime,” but “simple trespass” is not excused. Kentucky law allows you to shoot someone for “simple trespass” but your dog can’t bite them! If you’re not home and your dog neglects to stop and question the intruder to determine whether they’re there for the purposes of criminal mischief or just innocently trespassing through your living room before he does what he’s supposed to do, you’re subject to criminal prosecution, $500 fine and jail time.
91.111 Alternative Procedures Controlling Dangerous Dogs and Potentially Dangerous Dogs: Here’s where it gets really dicey. The Director, at his sole discretion, can declare your dog to be Dangerous, or Potentially Dangerous. At his sole discretion, he can decide whether or not your dog is an “immediate threat to public safety and welfare” and whether or not you are capable of owning and handling such a dog. If you lose your appeal to his decision, you can apply 18 months later to have his ‘Dangerous’ or ‘Potentially Dangerous’ status waived if there have been no complaints or violations against him. Children will not be able to come into contact with the dog, it can’t leave your house without a muzzle, it must always be in crate or cage if it’s transported by car and you must notify the Director of MAS every time the dog is taken to be boarded, groomed, is left at the vet’s or if it’s off your property for more than 3 days. If you don’t do all these things, your dog will be immediately impounded, you’ll be subject to criminal charges and up to 90 days in jail. And, it will cost you $250 to $500 per year to keep a Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous dog, not to mention the cost of that spiffy new enclosure you’ll be needing!
MAS and City Hall are spin-doctoring this thing all over the place. But, for those of us who can actually read, the above is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the sad truth. They can tell you ten different stories of what they “actually meant” or how they’re “really going to implement” these provisions, but when you read it in plain English, it’s pretty darn scary.
The biggest losers are going to be those on low or fixed incomes, because they won’t be able to afford the money necessary to implement the new enclosure and tethering requirements or the fines necessary to bail out their pets, and so will either surrender them or do jail time. And it’s to the benefit of MAS to patrol the northern and eastern portions of Jefferson County where they know the residents want to comply with the law, but don’t understand it and will gladly fork over whatever it takes to keep Fluffy out of jail. And meanwhile, nothing changes for the truly dangerous dogs on the streets, or for people those who live in the areas most plagued by loose aggressive dogs.
Don’t like this law? Call or write your Metro Council member and the Mayor. Tell them you own pets, and you vote. And donate to our cause so we can continue our legal battle against this Anti-Pet Ordinance and replace it with something that does work!