North Liberty welcomes cats and dogs of all breeds. We even welcome urban chickens. Learn about pet owner responsibilities, how to keep our community clean, and your pets safe.
Pet Owner Responsibilities
Owners are responsible for licensing and vaccinating their dog and cats (mandatory by 16 weeks old); they are also expected to abide by leash laws and other rules to prevent their pets from roaming freely or causing a nuisance. Owners are, of course, responsible for removing pet feces on public and private property, too.
Apply for a North Liberty Pet License.
To learn more, related ordinances include North Liberty Code Chapter 55 Animal Control and Chapter 56 Cat and Dog Licenses.
Red Fern Dog Park Annual Passes
To use the Dog Park at 980 North Liberty Road, North Liberty, Iowa 52317, you must purchase an annual pass for each dog. Fee information and pass application can be found at our Dog Park Pass page.
Lost Pets
All domestic animals should be licensed with the city. If a pet is located and has a city pet license tag on the collar, then every reasonable effort is made to return the animal back to the registered owner as soon as possible.
Lost a pet??! 10 actions you can take NOW:
- Fill out the City’s Lost Pet form. Responses are distributed to Animal Control staff. If you have trouble with the form, contact the Animal Control Officer at (319) 626-5724 or [email protected]. Leave a message with your name and phone number if after hours.
- Call the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) non-emergency line (319) 356-6800 (24/7), so the appropriate responder can be dispatched.
- Visit the Cedar Valley Humane Society Lost & Found webpage for their Lost Pet form. If you have trouble with the form, contact them at (319) 362‐6288 or [email protected].
- Search the Iowa City Animal Care & Adoption Center Found Dogs or Found Cats page and fill out their Lost Pet form.
- Search the Petco LoveLost page.
- Notify the company that you used to enroll your microchip. Links to the most common for North Liberty residents: 24PetWatch/Found Animals, 911PetChip, AKC Reunite, AVID, Buddy ID/MC Regis Ctr, Fi Nano, HomeAgain, PetKey, and PetLink.
- Notify your veterinarian.
- Consider posting information about your lost pet on social media, like Next Door and Facebook. The post should include your city & closest cross streets, photo of pet, and how to best contact you. Absolutely do NOT put your phone number on a social media post, because you will be contacted by scammers claiming to have found your pet. Do not send them money; educate yourself about scams.
- Create a flyer using this form, then print and post in public locations near your home (make sure you ask permission before hanging a flyer).
- Place a bowl of your pet’s favorite food outside your home. For cats, also place the litter box outside.
If your pet is found but does not have a pet license, you will need to apply for one prior to retrieval.
Stray Pets & Animals
Find a cat? Click here for instructions on what to do. Feral cats will not be collected by City staff; please make your own humane arrangements, such as TNR.
Find a kitten? Click here for instructions on what to do.
Click here for instructions on how to determine a kitten’s age.
If you find and capture a dog or pet cat (not feral), then please contact the JECC non-emergency line at (319) 356-6800 (24/7), so the appropriate responder can be dispatched. Stray pets are briefly held in North Liberty before being taken to the Cedar Valley Humane Society.
City staff will not assist in a capture. If you witness a pet at-large in the community but have not captured it, you can send a description, location of sighting, and photo of the animal to [email protected].
Urban Chickens
North Liberty allows for urban chickens to be kept on residential property after the completion of education and under certain conditions. Fee information and license form are available on our Permits page. Our urban chicken ordinance is available in North Liberty Code Chapter 55.23 Livestock.
Community Cats
North Liberty allows for free-roaming cats cared for by residents in their immediate area, or “community cats,” through a trap/neuter/return (TNR) program. This policy stabilizes the community cat populations by stopping the breeding cycle and disruptive mating behaviors and saves public money by reducing shelter intake, shelter euthanasia and calls of concern to animal control. Our community cats ordinance is available in North Liberty Code Chapter 55.29 Community Cats.
Fill out this form to register a neighborhood cat as a community cat, so staff knows:
- which cats are free-roaming and cared for, so animal control does not pick them up… or if they do find a cat, they know where to return it;
- who to contact if a community cat is found ill; and
- who can be responsible for the observation of the cat in the event of a rabies outbreak.
This community cat registration is free and is not the same as a pet license. Community cats will not be numbered or receive a tag.
Click here for photos of known and cared for community cats in your neighborhood.
Community cats in need of sterilization should be caught in a live humane trap, available through local retail stores, covered with a sheet and brought to a veterinarian. The Iowa Humane Alliance Regional Spay/Neuter Clinic is a low-cost option. City staff will not assist in a capture or trapping. If you need help with a trap, contact the Johnson County Humane Society at (319) 383-0494 or [email protected]. Want to know more about how to trap? Watch this video from an October 2022 TNR Workshop here in North Liberty.
Animal Bites
If someone has been bit by a domestic or wild animal, then call non-emergency dispatch at (319) 356-6800 (24/7), so the appropriate responder can be dispatched. North Liberty Animal Control staff does not respond to these incidents.
An attending health care provider or responding law enforcement officer will be responsible for animal bite reporting by filling out and submitting the Johnson County Animal Bite Report Form.
The information on the form will be used to notify 1) Johnson County Public Health Disease Prevention staff; and 2) if the animal is a pet, the jurisdiction where the animal’s owner resides. These entities will follow up with the victim and animal owner to initiate an investigation, notify the animal’s veterinarian, assess for risk of rabies transmission (recommending rabies prophylaxis if needed), and enforce Iowa Code Chapter 351 confinement requirements.
Visit North Liberty Code Chapter 57 Dangerous Animals for more information about due process for North Liberty animal owners.
Wild Animals
Law enforcement will respond if dispatch considers a wild animal to be an immediate hazard to the public. Call the JECC non-emergency line at (319) 356-6800 (24/7) to report a potential hazard while occurring.
For all other wild animal requests, you should contact a private pest control company. The contacts below are not endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with the City of North Liberty, but are listed as local examples for private use. The City will not do any scheduling or referrals. The City will not cover the costs of any portion of these services.
INJURED RAPTOR: Raptor Advocacy Rehabilitation and Education (RARE) Group theraregroup.org (319) 248-9770 or [email protected]
EXOTIC ANIMALS: Animals All Around Inc (319) 848-3238
CRITTER (BAT, SQUIRREL & SNAKE) REMOVAL ($$)
- Bobcat Wildlife Pest & Management bobcatpestiowacity.com (319) 600-2889
- Catch’em Critters catchemcritters.com (319) 936-7132
- Critter Control of Iowa City crittercontrol.com (319) 683-2560
- Paw Control pawcontrol.com (319) 777-9861
PEST (WASP/BUG/RODENT) PREVENTION OR REMOVAL ($$)
- Alias The Bugman Pest & Termite Control aliasbugman.com (319) 545-2847
- D&R Pest Control dandrpestcontrol.com (319) 354-1606
- 1st Response Pest Control 1stresponsepestcontrol.org (319) 600-2272
