Laws & Your Pet
These laws protect citizens from dangerous or nuisance animals and provide for basic animal care requirements. Only the most common problems are addressed.
Neglect Laws:
- All pets must be provided with adequate shelter, food, and water.
- All pets must be provided with necessary medical care in addition to the required rabies vaccination.
- All pet areas must be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner.
- No pet shall be tied to a rope, chain or cord fastened directly to the neck. Choker collars used for training need to be replaced with a leather or nylon collar immediately after training.
- No pet shall be left unattended in a vehicle when conditions constitute a health hazard.
Cruelty Laws:
- No person shall beat, cruelly treat, neglect, torment, overload, overwork, or otherwise abuse an animal.
- Dog and cock fighting is illegal in South Bend, and is a felony in the State of Indiana.
Nuisance Animal Laws:
- Excessive barking: Owners must immediately attend to their pet when barking begins.
- Pet waste must be cleaned up daily.
- Walking your pet? Carry a pooper scooper.
- Pets must be restrained at all times.