A. 1. It shall be the duty of the owner of any dog or other animal to prevent such dog or other animal from biting or attacking any person or pet in the village, and, if a person or pet is bitten by a dog or other animal, the owner shall report the incident to the police department immediately. Any dog or other animal which may unprovokedly bite or attack any person or pet in the village is hereby declared to be a nuisance, and such dog or animal may be apprehended and impounded at any time by any police officer, animal warden, or other such person charged with the enforcement of this chapter. If such dog or other animal is impounded, the owner shall have no right to redeem the dog or other animal if:
a. It has unprovokedly attacked or bitten any person(s) or pet(s) in the village on two (2) separate occasions within any twenty four (24) month period; or
b. It has inflicted a serious wound or other permanent or disabling injury in the attack in question.
2. The loss of right to redeem shall not apply if the owner shall remove such dog or other animal from the village immediately upon redemption and shall not thereafter keep or otherwise maintain such dog or other animal in the village at any time.
B. If an owner has notice that his dog or other animal has bitten any person or pet, it shall be unlawful for such owner to kill such dog or other animal or to sell or give away such dog or other animal, or to permit or allow such dog or other animal to be taken beyond the limits of the village except to a licensed veterinary hospital. It shall be the duty of such owner to immediately report the incident to the police department and to immediately place such a dog or other animal in a licensed veterinary hospital where such dog or other animal shall be quarantined for a period of at least ten (10) days (upon request of any police officer, animal warden or other person charged with the enforcement of this chapter) and to deliver such animal to them for such placement. The owner shall immediately furnish the police department with the name and location of said hospital and a certificate of a licensed veterinarian stating whether or not such dog or animal shows symptoms of rabies. At the expiration of the quarantine period and prior to the release of such dog or other animal, the owner shall furnish the police department with another certificate of a licensed veterinarian stating that such dog or other animal does not have rabies. All costs of maintaining any such dog or other animal in a veterinary hospital shall be the obligation and responsibility of its owner and shall be paid by said owner. If, however, the rabies inspector or licensed veterinarian has presented evidence that such dog or other animal has been inoculated against rabies within the time prescribed by law prior to the biting, such dog or other animal shall be confined in the house of its owner or in a manner that will prohibit such dog or other animal from biting any person or pet for a period of ten (10) days, unless in the judgment of the police department, animal warden or the licensed veterinarian, circumstances are such that the dog or other animal should be confined elsewhere. At the end of the ten (10) day period, the dog or other animal shall be examined by the rabies inspector or a licensed veterinarian.
C. In all cases where the animal that has bitten a person is slain or dies within ten (10) days from the time of the biting, it shall be the duty of the person slaying such animal and the owner of such animal to notify the police department and to immediately deliver the head of such animal intact to said department or cause the same to be done. Such head shall be sent to the state department of health for examination for rabies.
D. Any animal found to be rabid by a licensed veterinarian shall be destroyed according to all applicable statutes and rules of the Illinois and Lake County departments of health.
E. It shall be an adequate defense to any charge of violation of this section for the charged owner or possessor of an alleged biting or attacking dog or other animal to show that the animal was defending its owner, another person or the owner's property or that it was in a fenced in area or other enclosure when the same was invaded by the person or animal bitten.
F. In recognition and in memoriam of the little dog which was bitten and killed by a loose animal with a history of prior bites, this section shall hereafter be known as "Gizmo's law". (Ord. 10-02-04, 2-16-2010)