Blue Hill, NE Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 3-211, Offensive Behavior, is Blue Hill's noise ordinance for pets: it is unlawful for any person to own, keep, or harbor any dog or cat which by loud, continued, or frequent barking, howling, yelping or meowing shall annoy or disturb any neighborhood or person. The section also reaches dogs or cats that habitually bark at or chase pedestrians, drivers, or owners of horses or vehicles while they are on public sidewalks, streets, or alleys in the city, covering aggressive behavior alongside pure noise. Enforcement is complaint-driven and procedural rather than automatic: upon the written complaint of one person filed with the city clerk that a named owner's dog or cat is an annoyance, disturbance, or otherwise in violation of the section, the animal control officer must investigate, and if the officer's judgment is that the situation warrants it, the owner is notified to silence and restrain the animal.

The city animal shelter itself is expressly excluded from the section, so kenneled or impounded animals barking at the shelter cannot generate a violation. The provision traces to Neb. Rev. §17-526 and sits in Article 2, Dogs and Cats, alongside the running-at-large rule (§ 3-209) and the four-pet cap (§ 3-204), giving Blue Hill three separate, overlapping tools against a chronically loose or noisy animal.