Bowling Green, KY Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Sec. 5-1.08 defines an animal nuisance broadly as any animal a person owns, keeps or harbors that unreasonably annoys humans, endangers others, or substantially interferes with a citizen's enjoyment of life or property, and lists barking, howling, whining or other continuous utterances or excessive noise causing unreasonable annoyance, disturbance or discomfort to neighbors as the first named category. Enforcement runs through Sec. 5-3.01, which lets any City, State or County police officer, sheriff, constable or the City Animal Control Officer act, and Sec. 5-3.02, under which a notice of violation or citation issues per Chapter 2 hearing procedures; the City may also take immediate corrective action or place a lien on the property to recover its enforcement costs.

A second offense is defined as one occurring within five years of a prior citation against the same owner at the same property, and a third or greater offense as two or more prior offenses within that same five-year window. Notably, Sec. 5-1.19(c) exempts community cats managed under the city's Trap-Neuter-Release program from being cited as a nuisance under this same section, though that carve-out does not extend to owned dogs.