Van Buren, Arkansas

6.04.04 – Dog registration tag fee.

The dog license fees shall be as follows:

A. Altered (spayed or neutered): Five dollars ($5.00) per dog, annually.

B. Unaltered: Ten dollars ($10.00) per dog annually.

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An owner of a dog who provides a letter to the City or its licensing agent from a licensed veterinarian certifying that due to age (greater than six (6) months), poor health, or illness it is unsafe to spay or neuter the dog, shall be issued the license and license tag as if the dog was altered. The letter from the veterinarian shall include the veterinarian’s name, address, and license number.

6.04.08 – Breeder license.

A breeder license may be issued by the City for an intact dog at a cost of five hundred dollars ($500.00) per dog. A breeder license must be accompanied by a business license issued by the City.

A. Each breeder license shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance and must be renewed annually on or before its expiration date. A separate license must be obtained for each owned dog that is used for breeding purposes. To obtain a breeder license, each dog owner or possessor shall submit the following information:

1. The owner’s name;

2. Proof of rabies vaccination;

3. The dog owner’s address;

4. The dog owner’s phone number;

5. The dog’s name; and

6. The dog’s general description (such as breed, color, etc.).

B. Along with the information above, each dog owner or responsible party must present proof that the dog has been microchipped, including the microchip number and each dog born to any licensed breeding dog must be microchipped after four (4) months of age and licensed.

C. The City shall not knowingly issue a breeder license to a person who has been convicted of animal cruelty or neglect, or who has previously been determined to be in violation of the City’s licensing requirements for dogs.

D. A breeder license shall contain the following terms and conditions:

1. No offspring may be sold, adopted, bartered, gifted, or otherwise transferred whether for compensation or otherwise until it has reached the age of at least six (6) weeks.

2. No offspring may be sold, adopted, bartered, gifted, or otherwise transferred whether for compensation or otherwise until immunized against common diseases as directed by a veterinarian. The transfer of a dog shall include a statement signed by the transferor or transferee attesting to the signatory’s knowledge of the dog’s health and the immunization history.

3. Any holder of a breeder license who advertises to the public the availability of any dog for sale, adoption, barter, gift, or transfer, whether for compensation or otherwise, must prominently display the breeder license number to any person who purchases, adopts or receives any dog from the breeder license holder and include the breeder license number on any receipt of sale or transfer document, shall obtain a sales tax permit and comply with all regulations of the State of Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration then or thereafter in effect.

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5. Any breeder license holder selling or otherwise transferring a dog, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall submit to the City Animal Control Department the name, address, and telephone number of the dog’s new owner within five (5) days from the sale or transfer.

6. Any breeder license holder or commercial establishment selling or otherwise transferring dogs, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall provide to the new dog owner the information regarding the license and microchip requirements of the City.

7. Any person and/or entity violating this section may be subject to a fine for failure to comply with the breeder license requirements pursuant to section 6.04.31.

6.04.31 – Civil penalties and service fee.

A. If the Animal Control Officer impounds a dog at the City’s approved contracted/impoundment facility and the owner of the dog is identified, the owner shall be assessed one or more of the following civil penalties:

1. If the dog is not licensed, not microchipped, and not altered, the civil penalty will be one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).

2. If the dog is microchipped but not licensed and not altered, the civil penalty will be one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00).

3. If the dog is licensed and microchipped, no civil penalty shall be assessed; however, the owner of such dog shall pay the service fee set forth in subsection C. of this section.

4. Civil penalties [in subsections] A.1. and 2. will be reduced by fifty dollars ($50.00) if the dog is altered.

B. If the owner, after retrieving the dog from the City or the City’s impoundment facility, has the dog altered and/or microchipped within ten (10) days, the civil penalty will be reduced by fifty dollars ($50.00) for having the dog altered and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for having the dog microchipped. Proof of such action shall be provided to the Animal Control Officer or the approved/contracted impoundment facility who shall then process payment consistent with the reduced civil penalty.