The Aurora City Council this week revised the animal control ordinance, which now fines pet owners for dogs barking over a certain amount of time and limits the number of animals in a household.
According to the new law, Aurora residents are allowed to have only four domestic animals, which is any companion or farm animal, per home, and must not exceed more than two of one given species.
A "companion animal" was defined by Council as "a dog, cat, ferret, rabbit, guinea pig,
5 hamster or other similar domestic animal commonly kept as pets."
Any households that did not abide by this law prior to the ordinance being passed Tuesday are excused, the City Council noted.
Should a household apply to animal control for one additional pet, owners must prove that all animals in a household are also now required to be vaccinated, microchipped and spayed or neutered within the last five years.
In another section of the latest provisions, City Council noted that an animal cannot make "excessive noise" outside for more than 15 consecutive minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and for no more than 10 minutes from 10:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. the following day.
Any complaint made concerning the excessive noise must meet one of the following: captured by an audio or video recording; made my two or more people from different households; or made by one person but corroborated by animal control or law enforcement.
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An initial citation for an excessive noise violation is $100.
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