Last week, dog owner’s responsibilities were addressed in this column. Since the article came out, I have been contacted by residents who asked me to write about the ordinance regarding cats.
Here are portions of Ordinance 7.13 addressing regulation and licensing of animals:
(a) License required. It shall be unlawful for any person in the city to own, harbor or keep any cat more than five months of age without obtaining a cat license.
(b) Identification and control of cats. Every person residing in the city and owning or having in his or her possession any cat shall have said cat bear identification, either by tag, tattoo or other suitable means of identification.
(4) Rabies vaccination required. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep an animal in the city which is over 5 months of age and has not received a rabies vaccination as required by Wisconsin statutes.
(5) Animals running at large. An animal is considered running at large if it is off the premises of the owner and not under the restraint of the owner or some other person as defined in subsection (1). In addition, no person owning or having the responsibility, charge, care, custody or control of any animal shall allow the animal to stray, run, be let go or in any manner to exist at large on or upon any public street, sidewalk or public park or thoroughfare, or upon any other person’s property without the consent of the property owner. It shall be unlawful to abandon, within the city limits, any domesticated animal.
(e) Animals injuring or destroying property of others. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, or to allow to be in or upon any premises occupied by him or her or under his or her charge or control, any animal that in any manner injures or destroys real or personal property of any description belonging to another. If, upon the trial of any offense mentioned in this section, it shall appear to the judge that the person is guilty as charged in said complaint, said judge may, in addition to the usual judgment of conviction, order the person so offending to make restitution to the party injured in an amount equal to the value of the property so injured or destroyed.
(f) Penalties. In addition to the penalties, as provided in Subsection (5)(e) above, if the owner of an animal, negligently or otherwise, permits the animal to run at large or a dog or cat to be untagged or the cat to be unidentified, the owner shall forfeit $200 plus costs for the first offense; $300 plus costs, for the second offense; and an additional $50 for each subsequent offense. If the dog is unlicensed, the above penalties shall be doubled.
Households are allowed to have three dogs and three cats over the age of 5 months.
Often residents become upset if a neighbor’s cat comes onto their property. Many residents enjoy birds; they feed and watch them. Property owners don’t like to witness birds or small animals being scared away or even worse being killed by cats.
Our community service officers often receive calls requesting them to set up live traps. The cats are then taken to the Humane Society. There are some feral cats in the area and our officers do their best to trap them. Unfortunately, one of our city employees was recently attacked by a cat and had to go through the treatment to prevent rabies.
I often notice on social media a cat owner saying their cat has gone missing. Remember, the ordinance requires pet owners to keep cats/dogs in their home or on their property. I realize sometimes a pet can sneak out, but we encourage everyone to be as careful as they can to keep their animals safe and secure. As a pet owner myself, I am saddened when I see an animal that has been hit by a car or one who is lost.
Just a reminder, the free recycling event is today! Please note the location was changed from the high school due to a scheduling conflict. The event will be held at Hillcrest Primary School, 1410 S. Waukechon St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Congratulations to ThedaCare Medical Center on their new facility! The community is invited to the NWTC and ThedaCare Medical Center’s Open House on Wednesday. The ribbon-cutting and presentation will begin at 4:15 p.m. I will be out of the area and unfortunately unable to attend the exciting event, but I wish them success in their new location.
Due to being out of state, my column will not appear in next week’s paper. Thanks for keeping it “Positively Shawano” out there!
The answer to last week’s question — Who were the partners of Muehls Inc. in 1970? — is Randall Schmidt and Orville Teetzen.
This week’s question is: Who was the commander of American Legion Post 117 in 1989?
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