Waynesville, MO Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Waynesville defines an Animal Nuisance in Section 215.020 to include an animal that barks, whines, howls, honks, brays, cries or makes other noises excessively, alongside running loose, molesting people or vehicles, or damaging property. Section 215.250 then gives the City's enforcement tools directly for barking dogs: the Animal Control Officer or any member of the Police Department is authorized to use all reasonable means to abate the nuisance of any dog whose frequent, habitual or continued barking, yelping or howling unreasonably annoys or inconveniences Waynesville's inhabitants.

Unlike some cities, the ordinance sets no fixed decibel level, time-of-day window or number of minutes; the standard is whether the barking is frequent, habitual or continued and whether it unreasonably annoys or inconveniences people in the area, a determination the Animal Control Officer makes under Section 215.100's nuisance-determination authority. Once an animal is found to be creating a nuisance, Section 215.300 supplies the penalty track: the owner or harborer gets an Animal Control ticket, which can be handed directly to the offender or posted in a noticeable spot on the property, and the Animal Nuisance violation fee is $25.00, due within thirty days along with any other associated fees.

If the ticket goes unpaid within that thirty-day period, the Animal Control Officer forwards the matter to the Waynesville Police Department, which issues a formal citation and summons the offender to Municipal Court, where a guilty finding brings a fine assessed under the City's General Penalty in Section 100.020.