Jefferson County, MO Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

125 makes it unlawful for any person in the unincorporated area to keep or harbor a dog that howls or barks past those thresholds. A rebuttable presumption places liability on the owner of the property where the dog is kept once a violation is documented, shifting the burden to the owner. A narrow defense exists: the owner can avoid liability by proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the dog barked only because it was provoked or incited by a person, or because it was acting as a guide dog, hearing dog, service dog, or police work dog.

That defense does not shield the pattern-based violation in Subsection (B)(3) from a stricter safeguard: prosecutors cannot bring a case built on more than five shorter episodes in ten days unless testimony comes in from complainants at two or more separate properties, preventing a single neighbor from driving an enforcement action alone. Because Chapter 205 governs only the unincorporated county, Arnold, Festus, De Soto, Hillsboro, Pevely and the county's other incorporated cities enforce their own barking-dog rules within their limits, not this section.