Manteca Municipal Code Ch. 6.08 Dogs

No person owning any dog, or having the care, custody, or control or possession of any dog shall suffer, allow, or permit such dog to run, be, or remain at large on any public street, road, alley, park, square, or other public place or upon any private property other than the property of the owner or custodian of such dog without the consent of the owner of such property, within the corporate limits of the city; and all dogs may be deemed running at large within the meaning of this section unless tied or restrained by chain, strap or cord, not to exceed six feet in length, attached to their collars and actually held by some person, or staked away from the public walkway or thoroughfare. Any such restraining device shall be of sufficient strength as to prevent being broken, severed or otherwise rendered ineffective by the weight and/or strength of the dog. For purposes of this section, any dog in or upon any vehicle shall be deemed to be on the premises of the operator thereof.

(Prior code § 3-13; Ord. 766 (part), 1987)

No person owning or having care, custody, control or possession of any dog shall allow the dog to remain outside of a secure building or dwelling on the premises of the person unless the dog is within a fenced enclosure which is adequate to contain the dog, or unless the dog is securely tethered so as to prevent the dog from leaving the premises at will. Any dog so tethered shall be secured in such a manner as to be unable to cross the property line of such premises and shall further be restrained from entering onto any sidewalk, street, road, or other such place designated for the use of the public.

(Prior code § 3-13.1; Ord. 766 (part), 1987)

No dog, except a dog assisting a peace officer engaged in law enforcement duties, shall be transported on any public thoroughfare or left unattended in any vehicle parked on any street, road, alley or off-street parking facility, whether public or privately owned, unless such dog is totally enclosed within such vehicle, within a secured container carried upon such vehicle, or securely cross-tethered to such vehicle in such a way as to prevent a falling out of, or off, such vehicle. No dog shall be left completely enclosed in a parked vehicle without adequate ventilation, or in a way as to subject the dog to temperatures sufficiently above the ambient to affect the dog's health and welfare. Any dog found in violation of this section may be impounded for the safety and protection of the dog and the public by the animal services officer.

(Prior code § 3-13.2; Ord. 766 (part), 1987; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

It is unlawful for any person owning or having the possession of any female dog in heat to permit the same to run at large or to run loose on or within the premises of such person. Running loose is defined for the purposes of this section as being outside of a house, closed garage, or other closed building, whether tied or not.

(Prior code § 3-15)

Any dog which continually and habitually barks, whines, or howls to the discomfort and inconvenience of other citizens is a public nuisance. It is unlawful for any person to own or possess a dog which is a public nuisance.

(Prior code § 3-16)

No person shall allow, permit or take any dog whether loose, on leash or in arms, into any restaurant, grocery store, meat market, fruit store or food establishment of any kind in the city.

(Prior code § 3-17)

Health service dogs are any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. Any person having custody of such a health service dog may keep and harbor the dog within the city without purchasing a permit to keep a dog from the finance director and may lawfully take the dog into any food establishment, restaurants, schools, buses, taxis, airplanes, stores, movie theatres, concerts, sporting events, doctor's offices, and any other public place.

(Prior code § 3-18; Ord. 1463 § 1, 2010)

It is unlawful for any person owning, harboring or having the care, custody or possession of any dog past the age of four months to keep or harbor such dog within the city unless such dog is vaccinated against rabies and the owner or person having control of such dog has secured a license to keep a dog as provided in this chapter.

(Prior code § 3-19; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

Every person keeping or harboring any dog past the age of four months within the city shall secure a license to keep a dog by causing the dog to be registered in the following manner:

A. Upon first time licensing, the dog and its current official certificate of rabies vaccination shall be brought to the animal services division where a description of the dog shall be recorded and kept by the animal services division;

B. Pay the animal services division a registration fee as established from time to time by resolution of the council;

C. Upon presentation of a certificate, signed by a licensed veterinarian, that a dog cannot be spayed or neutered for medical reasons, the registration fee shall be equivalent to the fee that would have been charged for a dog that was successfully spayed or neutered;

D. No registration shall be required to be paid for health service dogs as defined in Section 6.08.070.

(Prior code § 3-20; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

Subject to Sections 6.08.020 through 6.08.140, the animal services division shall, upon proper registration and payment of the fee as provided in Sections 6.08.020 through 6.08.140, issue to the owner or person having control of the dog a license to keep a dog and a metal identification tag having a number corresponding with the registration number of the dog. The holder of a license to keep a dog shall preserve the same and shall, upon demand of the animal services officer or police officer, show such license.

(Prior code § 3-21; Ord. 1077 § 3, 1998; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

No license to keep a dog shall be issued unless there exists a valid official certificate of vaccination signed by a licensed veterinarian that indicates the date of vaccination and the type of vaccine used. The certificate shall be accepted as valid if the date of expiration exceeds the requested registration period and the vaccine used is approved by the state for the length of time indicated on the certificate.

(Prior code § 3-22; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

Every registered dog shall be provided by the owner or possessor thereof with a suitable collar or other device to which shall be attached the metal identification tag issued pursuant to Section 6.08.100. Every dog not registered and not provided with such collar or other device and metallic identification tag found upon any of the streets, alleys, lanes, courts or other public places in the city or upon any private property, whether leashed or unleashed, or whether or not it is in any manner under the control of any person, may be taken into custody of the animal services officer or his or her assistants and lodged in the public animal services shelter. It is unlawful for any person to use any metallic identification tag for any dog other than the dog for which it was specifically issued.

(Prior code § 3-23; Ord. 1077 § 3, 1998; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

Lost identification tags may be replaced by paying the finance director a fee as established from time to time by resolution of the council. After paying the established fee, the finance director shall issue a new metallic identification tag, with a new number, under the existing license.

(Prior code § 3-24; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

A. Every person owning, possessing, keeping, harboring or having custody of any dog over four months old shall maintain a current, valid license for each dog and the appropriate license fees shall be paid. Fees and charges shall be established from time to time by resolution of the council.

B. The fee may be prepaid for a one-year, two-year or three-year period, provided that the applicant presents a valid vaccination certificate extending through the period for which the applicant is paying.

C. Failure to renew a license and pay the required fee prior to the expiration date of the license shall cause such fee to become delinquent and penalties shall be added to the regular fee and collected at the time of such delinquent registration. The delinquent fee shall be established from time to time by resolution of the council. Any delinquency shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(Prior code § 3-25; Ord. 1495 § 2, 2011)

A. Any person, except as hereinafter provided, proposing to construct or locate a dog kennel in the city for the purpose of breeding, raising, boarding, or harboring dogs, must first obtain a permit to conduct a dog kennel from the finance director. Such permit shall be issued only after review by a department designee. Such permit shall not be issued until a notice has been posted by the police chief or designee in a conspicuous place on the premises for ten days, during which time any person owning or living on property within two hundred feet of the property on which the kennel is proposed to be constructed or located, may file a protest with the police chief or designee and, upon receipt of such protest, the police chief or designee shall refuse to approve the application. The police chief or designee may prescribe which of the aforesaid activities mentioned may be allowed in the kennel for which the permit to conduct a dog kennel is granted.

B. Any person having more than three dogs in possession which are four months of age or older shall be considered as operating a dog kennel and must obtain a permit to conduct a dog kennel as set forth in subsection A of this section.

C. The provisions of this section pertaining to the posting of notice and protest of any person owning or living in property within two hundred feet shall not apply to kennels which were established and operating on April 5, 1954. This exception shall apply only so long as such kennels remain established at same location and on the same lot or lots as they were on that date.

(Prior code § 3-26; Ord. 1077 § 3, 1998; Ord. O2019-02 § 1)