01/23/2026
Please bring your pets in doors the next few days!
With the forecasted cold temperatures quickly approaching, we thought we would remind you it is against city ordinance 6-223 to expose your pets to inclement weather without adequate shelter to protect them. Please keep your pets safe and warm!
Hastings city ordinance 6-223 Cruelty to animals prohibited.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously inflict unnecessary or needless cruelty, torture, abuse or cruelly beat, strike or abuse any animal, or by an act, omission or neglect cause or inflict any unnecessary or unjustifiable pain, suffering, injury or death to any animal whether such animal belongs to such person or to another, except that reasonable force may be employed to drive away vicious or trespassing animals. Any unwanted animals should be delivered to an animal control officer for proper disposal.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person in the custody or control of any animal to fail, refuse or neglect to provide such animal with food, potable water, shade or shelter, or to cruelly or unnecessarily expose any such animal in hot, stormy, cold or inclement weather, or to carry any such animal in or upon any vehicle in a cruel or inhumane manner.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) The term "shade" means protection from the direct rays of the sun during the months of June through September.
(2) The term "shelter," as it applies to dogs, means a moisture-proof structure of suitable size to accommodate the dog and allow retention of body heat, made of durable material with a solid floor raised at least two inches from the ground and with the entrance covered by a flexible, wind-proof material. Such structure shall be provided with a sufficient quantity of suitable bedding to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness.
(d) Whenever conditions exist that violate subsections (a) and (b) of this section, an animal control officer or police officer may take immediate custody of the animal, and either impound the animal or take the animal to a veterinarian for treatment. If the veterinarian determines that the condition of the animal is such that the animal should be destroyed, the animal shall be destroyed. The individual who had the custody or control of the animal shall be responsible for the costs of the impound, treatment and destruction of the animal. The animal shall not be returned to the custody or control of the individual from whom the animal was confiscated, unless the animal control officer determines that the return of the animal is in the best interests of the animal.
(Code 2020, Β§ 10-226; Ord. No. 3860-7/2002)