As used in this chapter:
(a) “Abandon” means to desert, surrender, relinquish or give up with the intent of never again resuming one's ownership rights or interest in an animal, provided that a lost animal will not be regarded as abandoned when the owner or custodian has made a reasonable effort to locate the animal. Abandoned also includes when an owner or custodian’s animal remains on property which has been condemned or ordered to be vacated.
(b) “Adequate care” means the provision of sufficient food, potable water, shelter, sanitary conditions, and medical attention to maintain an animal in a state of good health.
(c) “Animal” means a vertebrate, other than a human being. When used in this chapter, animal shall not include those animals considered exotic or wild.
(d) “Americans with Disabilities Act”(ADA) means Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.
(e) “Animal at large” means the unrestrained wandering or roaming of any animal on a public way or on property not owned or leased by its owner. This also includes animals on their owner's property not under direct control of the owner in populated areas, i.e. where homes are within 200 feet of each other. This definition does not apply to dogs off-leash when specifically permitted under Section 1060.05(b)(5)A.3.
(g) “Attack” means the intent to cause injury or otherwise forcefully endanger the safety of people or other animals.
(h) “At-risk animal” means an animal that does any one or more of the following:
(1) Is found to menace, chase, display threatening or aggressive behavior or otherwise threaten or endanger the safety of any person.
(2) Causes physical injury to any domestic animal while at large.
(3) Repeatedly runs at large.
(i) “Dangerous animal” means:
(1) An animal that:
A. Bites or attacks a person, or another animal;
B. Behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses an unjustified imminent threat of serious injury or death to one or more person or another animal;
C. Is used for fighting or other illegal activity; or
D. Escalates behavior that caused it to be adjudicated an at risk-animal.
(2) “Dangerous animal” does not include any of the following:
A. An animal that bites or attacks a person who is knowingly trespassing on the property of the animal's owner, or who bites and attacks another animal that is on the property of the animal's owner without permission;
B. An animal that bites or attacks a person who provokes or torments the animal;
C. An animal that is responding in a manner that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude was designed to protect a person if that person is engaged in a lawful activity or is the subject of an assault; or
D. Livestock, except those fitting the classifications in Section 608.29.
(j) “Domestic animals” means those animals that have traditionally, through a long association with humans, lived in a state of dependence upon humans or under the dominion and control of humans and which have been kept as tame pets, raised as livestock, or used for commercial breeding purposes.
(k) “Exotic animal” means an animal of a non-domesticated species not commonly kept as a household pet or for food or fiber production. Exotic animals may or may not be native to the area and may or may not be governed by existing wildlife regulations.
(l) “Ferret” means an animal of any age of the species Mustela furo.
(m) “Fowl” means a type of animal that includes all wild and domestic birds, including, but not limited to, game birds, songbirds, turkeys, roosters, chickens, ducks, geese or other poultry.
(n) “Hobby breeder” means a person who owns four or fewer ferrets that are at least six months of age or a litter of ferrets that is less than five months of age on a temporary basis for personal recreational purposes, such as competitions in shows or improving the breed, and who registers his or her ferrets with a national ferret registry organization.
(o) “Kennel” means, unless stated otherwise, any establishment wherein or whereon dogs are kept for breeding, sale or sporting purposes.
(p) “Leash” means a strap or cord for restraining or guiding an animal. “Leash” does not include shock collars (also called e-collars, Ecollars, remote training collars, Zap collars or electronic collars) that deliver electrical shocks to the neck of an animal.
(q) “Livestock” means animals used for human food and fiber or animals used for service to human beings. "Livestock" includes, but is not limited to, equine, sheep, rams, cattle, mules, jacks, jennets, burros, goats, kids and swine, bison, poultry, privately owned cervids, ratites, new world camelids, aquaculture and fur-bearing animals being raised in captivity. "Livestock" does not include animals that are human companions, such as dogs and cats.
(r) “Mutilate” means to destroy or disfigure a body part.
(s) “Muzzle” means a commercially manufactured device which is placed over the mouth of an animal and strapped around its head or neck and is sold for the express purpose of preventing the animal from biting another animal or person.
(t) “Neglect” means to fail to sufficiently and properly care for an animal to the extent that the animal's health is jeopardized.
(u) “Owner” means a person having a right of property ownership in an animal, who keeps or harbors the animal or has the animal in his or her care or custody, or who permits the animal to remain on or about premises occupied by the person. An owner does not mean a person who harbors an animal in the course of conducting a boarding, grooming, or training business, or a veterinary hospital, or a person steals or takes without consent of the owner and without lawful authority a dog in violation of M.C.L.A. 287.308. “Owner” does not mean a person who feeds an animal that is a stray or without an owner as defined above.
(v) “Permit” means knowledge, consent or willingness, or negligent conduct equivalent thereto.
(w) “Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity or other legal entity.
(x) “Pet” means any animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.
(y) “Poultry” means, but is not limited to, chickens, guinea fowl, turkeys, waterfowl, geese, ducks, pigeons, doves, peafowl, and game birds that are propagated and maintained under the husbandry of humans.
(z) “Provoke” means to perform a willful act or omission that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude is likely to precipitate a bite or attack by an ordinary dog or animal.
(aa) “Quarantine” means a state of enforced isolation. To detain in or exclude by quarantine, to isolate from normal relations or communication.
(bb) “Rabies suspect animal” means any animal other than wildlife, which has been determined by the Michigan Department of Community Health to be a potential rabies carrier and which has bitten or scratched a human, or any animal which has been in contact with or bitten by another animal which is a potential rabies carrier, or any animal which shows symptoms of rabies.
(cc) “Rodent” unless otherwise stated, means a feral mammal of the order rodentia, including, but not limited to, mice, rats and squirrels.
(dd) “Sanitary conditions” means space free from health hazards including excessive animal waste, overcrowding of animals, or other conditions that endanger the animal's health. This definition does not include a condition resulting from a customary and reasonable practice pursuant to farming or animal husbandry.
(ee) “Serious injury” means permanent, serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health or serious impairment of a bodily function of a person or animal.
(ff) “Service animal” means any dog which is trained or being trained to aid a person who is blind, hearing impaired, or otherwise disabled under M.C.L.A. 287.291; MSA 12.543 (1970 PA 207). “Service animal” does not mean an animal that provides comfort just by being with a person.
(gg) “Shelter” means: a leak-proof roofed structure of four sides which is suitable for the age, size, species, and physical condition of the animal and which provides adequate protection to an animal from the elements and weather conditions so as to maintain the animal in a state of good health. "Adequate protection" from the elements includes, but is not limited to, dry bedding from October 1 through May 31. Exemptions will be made for dogs who have veterinarian documentation stating that they cannot tolerate straw. As to livestock, "shelter" also includes those environments that comply with generally accepted agricultural and management principals adopted pursuant to the Right to Farm Act, M.C.L.A. 286.471 et seq., or as otherwise specifically provided for by State law. An animal must be able to stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around inside the shelter. Interior must be protected from the elements; wind, rain, snow and sun. Interior must be clean and not moldy.
(1) “Inadequate shelter” includes, but is not limited to:
A. Crawl spaces under buildings or parts of buildings, such as steps, decks, or stoops;
B. The space under a vehicle or in truck caps;
C. The inside of a vehicle, other than a functional climate controlled motor home;
D. Shelters made from cardboard or other materials that are easily degraded by the elements;
E. Animal carriers or crates that are designed to provide temporary housing;
F. Barrels;
G. Cages with wire or chain-link floors; or
H. Shelters surrounded by waste, debris, obstructions or impediments that could adversely affect an animal’s health.
(hh) “State of good health” means freedom from injury, disease, illness and parasite infestation, and in a condition of proper body weight, hydration, temperature and grooming for the age and species of the animal, unless the animal is undergoing appropriate veterinary treatment.
(ii) “Sterilized” means an animal which has, by virtue of a surgically performed castration or ovariohysterectomy or other recognized veterinary procedure, been rendered incapable of sexual reproduction.
(jj) “Tethering” means the restraint and confinement of an animal by use of a chain, rope, or similar device. “Tethering” does not include shock collars (also called e-collars, Ecollars, remote training collars, Zap collars or electronic collars) that deliver electrical shocks to the neck of an animal. Chains rated grade 70 or more are prohibited.
(kk) “Torment” means an act or omission that causes unjustifiable pain, suffering, or distress to an animal, or that causes mental and emotional anguish in the animal; as evidenced by its altered behavior or condition.
(ll) “Torture” means to cause agony or intense pain with the intent to punish, coerce, or to afford sadistic pleasure.
(mm) “Veterinarian” means a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine under the laws of the State of Michigan or under a similar law of another state or Federal authority that is applicable to that person.
(nn) “Vicious dog” means an animal of the Canis familaris species which, when either unmuzzled or unleashed or when not confined to the premises of the owner, menaces a person in a manner which an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude to be an apparent attitude of attack. No dog shall be deemed vicious if it menaces a trespasser on the premises of its owner or a person who has provoked or tormented it, or is a trained animal for law enforcement or guard duties acting pursuant to its official duties.
(oo) “Wild animal” means any animal normally found in the wild irrespective of geographic origin, or any crossbreeds of these animals with domestic animals, or any descendant of such crossbreeds which is 25% or more wild animal, and which because of its size or vicious propensity or other characteristic would constitute a danger to human life or domesticated animals. Any canine with a genetic make-up of 25% or higher wolf, coyote, or fox shall be considered a wild animal.
(Ord. 22-95. Passed 7-18-95; Ord. 02-03. Passed 5-20-03; Ord. 21-05. Passed 9- 20-05; Ord. 04-2017. Passed 5-16-17
; Ord. 10-2019. Passed 7-2-19.)