This question has come up a lot among people I know. There has been a surge in dog adoptions in the last year. It makes sense as people were home more and thought maybe a pet would be a good distraction. However, it has led to another problem in a lot of neighborhoods: barking dogs. Obviously just about every dog barks from time to time. But what about those people who leave their dog barking in their yard, unattended for hours on end? Is that illegal?

Yes, it absolutely is illegal in both cities of Duluth & Superior. The laws vary somewhat, but the bottom line is that it becomes a noise nuisance and animal control can get involved. There can be citations issued, fines imposed, and ultimately the dog could be impounded if it gets to be severe enough. Here's what the cities have written into their ordinances.

Duluth:

It clearly states that no person shall harbor or keep any dog which frequently or habitually barks, yelps, or howls that causes reasonable annoyance of another person or persons. Further, it's illegal to have any animal that creates any noise which is plainly audible to any person standing standing at the property line that goes on for more than seven minutes, or repeatedly over a 14 minute of time and averages at least 12 animal noises per minute.

Superior:

Superior is a little more vague with their law in their ordinance section. They say that owners shall exercise proper care and control of their animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. That includes excessive, continuous or untimely barking, howling, crying or yelping, or making continuous and disrupting noises. Any animal that has become a public nuisance may be impounded by law enforcement or animal control officer.

There are a lot of rules concerning pets in both cities, so it's suggested that if you are an owner you read up on it. If you would like to contact animal control, you can call the on duty officer's cell phone in Duluth at 218-390-2256. In Superior, call 715-395-7280.

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