Irvine Municipal Code Ch. 2 Animal Licenses

It shall be unlawful for any person to own or harbor or keep any dog four months of age or older within the City unless there shall be attached to such dog a collar upon which there shall be a current numbered metal tag. The collar need not be attached to the dog while such dog remains in the dwelling of the owner or other person having custody thereof, or in any enclosed yard adjacent thereto. Nothing herein contained, however, shall be construed to relieve the necessity of having a current tag for each dog.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

Application for a City registration must be made within 30 days after obtaining a dog over four months of age or within 30 days of establishing residence within the City.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

No dog shall be registered without presentation of a rabies vaccination certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian, such certificate to be valid for the entire registration period. Deferment of this requirement shall be permitted as provided in Section 4-5-303 of Chapter 3 of this division.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

A fee not to exceed the cost of City services relating to dogs shall be paid to the City for each registration required by this chapter, as provided by resolution of the City Council, which may be amended from time-to-time. The period of time for which registration shall be issued may vary from 12 months to 36 months. Registration may be issued for periods of time less than the minimum 12-month period if the animal's rabies certificate expires sooner than the minimum registration period. Senior citizens over 62 years of age and residents with permanent disabilities may register their animals at one-half the regular fee or special reduced rate. Any person whose dog has been spayed or neutered shall pay one-half, or less, or the applicable registration fee, provided that a certificate of sterilization issued by a veterinarian is presented with the registration application. Such fee shall not apply to any dog while kept or maintained exclusively within a commercial kennel or by a recognized animal rescue organization.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

No registration fee shall be required for the following:

A. Guide dogs for the blind, signal dogs for the deaf, and service dogs for the physically disabled.

B. Dogs honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States.

C. Dogs in the care, custody and control of nonresidents who are traveling through the City or temporarily staying in the City for a period not exceeding 30 days, or dogs temporarily brought into the City for the exclusive purpose of being entered in a dog show or exhibition, provided such dogs are so entered and not kept elsewhere in the City.

D. Dogs used in crime detection or apprehension by public officers.

E. Dogs housed in a duly licensed pet shop prior to sale.

F. Dogs temporarily housed in a duly licensed boarding facility or veterinary hospital, provided the facility enters the license tag number for each dog so housed in its records and places such information nearby so that it is readily identifiable with the dog to which it belongs; or if a dog is not licensed, the facility's records clearly indicate that fact.

G. Dogs temporarily housed at the City's animal shelter.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

The owner shall state at the time application is made, and upon standard printed forms of application provided for such purpose, his or her name, address, telephone number, the name, breed, color, age and sex of each animal for which application is made, the expiration date of each pet's rabies inoculation (proof required), and whether or not each pet being registered has been spayed or neutered (proof required).

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

Upon collection of the registration fee, a dated receipt will be issued stating the name, address and telephone number of the owner, dog tag number, description of the dog, whether the dog has been spayed or neutered and the expiration date of the rabies vaccination, together with a registration tag stamped with a serial number, year and name of the City.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

A. Display required. No person who owns, harbors or keeps any dog shall fail or refuse to exhibit the registration and tag required by this chapter upon demand of any person charged with the enforcement of this chapter.

B. Lost registration tag. In case any registration tag is lost or destroyed, replacement may be obtained upon showing such proof as may be required and upon payment of the replacement fee.

C. Unauthorized tag removal. No unauthorized person shall remove from any animal any collar or harness or other device to which is attached a registration tag for the current year, or remove such registration tag from any animal.

D. Nontransferable. Animal registrations are not transferable or refundable.

E. Counterfeit tag. It shall be unlawful for any person to attach any current license tag to any dog, which tag was not issued for said dog, or to counterfeit or imitate a dog tag, or to attach a counterfeit or imitation tag to any dog; and it shall be unlawful for any person to make any false statement as to any fact required in connection with the securing and issuance of a dog tag.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

Registrations shall become delinquent 30 days following the date on which they are due, and all delinquent registrations shall be subject to the payment of a penalty in addition to the registration fee.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)

Cats over four months of age may be registered with the City in the same manner in which dogs are registered. Cats must have a current rabies vaccination valid for the entire one-year registration period.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 9-22-09)