Westfield, IN Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 10-24 requires permanent identification for essentially every dog and cat kept in Westfield. Subsection (a) requires an owner to ensure the pet bears a permanent means of identification at all times so a lost or stolen dog or cat's owner can be traced quickly. Subsection (b) makes this requirement additional to any state-law or Code tag requirement and lets the owner satisfy it either with a microchip bearing a registered identification number that a standard scanner can read, or with a permanent tag on a durable collar worn at all times, bearing the owner's current name and phone number.

Subsection (c) requires any veterinarian or other person in the city who implants microchips to send the names, addresses and phone numbers of owners along with the matching microchip numbers to the Hamilton County animal care and control division at least once a month, and those records must be available to that division without a court order. Subsection (d) makes it unlawful for anyone to own a dog or cat three months of age or older kept in the city without a permanent means of identification, and a violation is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 per occurrence.

Section 10-25 raises the stakes further: an owner previously found in violation of Sections 10-3, 10-5, 10-9, 10-11 or 10-12 who is later found without the required microchip under Section 10-24(a) must also keep the animal in a secure structural enclosure whenever it is outside, unless it is leashed and under a competent person's control.