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Oak Grove adopts "free ride home" ordinance to encourage pet licensing
Summary
The Oak Grove Board of Aldermen on Feb. 2 adopted Ordinance No. 2154 establishing a "free ride home" program that waives initial impound and boarding fees for licensed or microchipped pets returned within 24 hours, with exceptions for dangerous animals and harm to people or property.
The Oak Grove Board of Aldermen adopted Ordinance No. 2154 on Feb. 2, 2026, creating a “free ride home” program intended to encourage pet licensing and speed reunification of animals with owners.
Matt, a city staff member, told the board the program would allow animals found running at large to be returned directly to their owners at no cost if the animal displays a current city license or is microchipped and the owner can be reached. "The primary goal of this program is to reunite pet owners with their pets as quickly as possible and to encourage owners to retrieve their pets within the first 24 hours," Matt said.
Under the ordinance, initial impound and boarding fees would be waived for the first 24 hours when an owner cannot be immediately reached. The program excludes animals that have bitten a person, caused property damage or otherwise harmed the public; animals designated as dangerous or potentially dangerous would not be eligible. The waiver is limited to once per year per pet; subsequent incidents would be charged standard impoundment and boarding fees. The city’s pet-license fee is set at $5 for neutered pets and $10 for intact pets, while the typical impoundment fee the staff cited is $35 with a nightly boarding fee of $15.
Board discussion included a question about why pot-bellied pigs were singled out in the ordinance language. An alderman said, "This is kind of silly," and Matt responded that pot-bellied pigs have appeared in recurring incidents and that the ordinance is intended to address a range of companion animals that run at large while keeping dangerous animals subject to impoundment.
The board moved for first- and second-reading by title only and then for adoption. The clerk conducted a roll-call vote: Rachel Kilmer, Pam Pope, Kelly Neto, Shane Shawbaker and Tracy Newcomer voted yes. The motion carried and the ordinance was assigned No. 2154.
The ordinance will be added to the municipal code under Title 2, Chapter 205 (Animal Regulations). The city did not specify an effective date in the recorded discussion.
