618.051 CRUELTY TO COMPANION ANIMALS.

   (a)   As used in this section:

      (1)   "Companion animal" means any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept.  "Companion animal" does not include livestock or any wild animal.

      (2)   "Cruelty", "torment" and "torture" have the same meanings as in Ohio R.C. 1717.01.

      (3)   "Residential dwelling" means a structure or shelter or the portion of a structure or shelter that is used by one or more humans for the purpose of a habitation.

      (4)   "Practice of veterinary medicine" has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4741.01.

      (5)   "Wild animal" has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 1531.01.

      (6)   "Federal animal welfare act" means the "Laboratory Animal Act of 1966", Pub.  L.  No.  89-544, 80 Stat.  350 (1966), 7 U.S.C.A. 2131 et seq., as amended by the "Animal Welfare Act of 1970", Pub.  L.  No.  91-579, 84 Stat.  1560 (1970), the "Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1976", Pub. L.  No.  94-279, 90 Stat.  417 (1976), and the "Food Security Act of 1985", Pub.  L.  No.  99-198, 99 Stat.  1354 (1985), and as it may be subsequently amended.

      (7)   "Dog kennel" means an animal rescue for dogs that is registered under Ohio R.C. 956.06, a boarding kennel or a training kennel.

   (b)   No person shall knowingly torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill, or commit an act of cruelty against a companion animal.

   (c)   No person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:

      (1)   Commit any act by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable remedy or relief, against the companion animal;

      (2)   Omit any act of care by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable remedy or relief, against the companion animal;

      (3)   Commit any act of neglect by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable remedy or relief, against the companion animal;

      (4)   Needlessly kill the companion animal;

      (5)   Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance, confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water, or impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight, if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the deprivation, confinement, or impoundment in any of those specified manners.

   (d)   No owner, manager, or employee of a dog kennel who confines or is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:

      (1)   Commit any act by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable remedy or relief, against the companion animal;

      (2)   Omit any act of care by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted, or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable relief, against the companion animal;

      (3)   Commit any act of neglect by which unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering is caused, permitted or allowed to continue, when there is a reasonable remedy or relief, against the companion animal;

      (4)   Needlessly kill the companion animal;

      (5)   Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance, confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water, or impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow or excessive direct sunlight if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the deprivation, confinement, or impoundment or confinement in any of those specified manners.

   (e)   Subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section do not apply to any of the following:

      (1)   A companion animal used in scientific research conducted by an institution in accordance with the federal animal welfare act and related regulations;

      (2)   The lawful practice of veterinary medicine by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate to do so under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741;

      (3)   Dogs being used or intended for use for hunting or field trial purposes, provided that the dogs are being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the care of hunting dogs;

      (4)   The use of common training devices, if the companion animal is being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the training of animals;

      (5)   The administering of medicine to a companion animal that was properly prescribed by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741.
(ORC 959.131)

   (f)   (1)   Whoever violates subsection (b) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree on a first offense.  On each subsequent offense such person is guilty of a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.

      (2)   Whoever violates subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree on each subsequent offense.

      (3)   Whoever violates subsection (d) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

      (4)   A.   A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to forfeit to an impounding agency, as defined in Ohio R.C. 959.132, any or all of the companion animals in that person's ownership or care.  The court also may prohibit or place limitations on the person's ability to own or care for any companion animals for a specified or indefinite period of time.

         B.   A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to reimburse an impounding agency for the reasonably necessary costs incurred by the agency for the care of a companion animal that the agency impounded as a result of the investigation or prosecution of the violation, provided that the costs were not otherwise paid under Ohio R.C. 959.132.

      (5)   If a court has reason to believe that a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section suffers from a mental or emotional disorder that contributed to the violation, the court may impose as a community control sanction or as a condition of probation a requirement that the offender undergo psychological evaluation or counseling.  The court shall order the offender to pay the costs of the evaluation or counseling.  (ORC 959.99)

618.06 COLORING RABBITS AND BABY POULTRY; SALE OR DISPLAY OF POULTRY.

   No person shall dye or otherwise color any rabbit or baby poultry, including, but not limited to, chicks and ducklings. No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, raffle or give away any rabbit or baby poultry which has been dyed or otherwise colored. No poultry younger than four weeks of age may be sold, given away or otherwise distributed to any person in lots of less than six. Stores, shops, vendors and others offering young poultry for sale or other distribution shall provide and operate brooders or other heating devices that may be necessary to maintain poultry in good health, and shall keep adequate food and water available to the poultry at all times. (ORC 925.62)

618.07 PEACE DISTURBANCES; DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.

     (a)     No owner or person in charge or control of a dog, or owner or person in charge of a premises on which a dog is located, shall permit a dog nuisance to occur or continue within the City.

   (b)   For the purposes of this section, each of the following constitutes a dog nuisance:

            (1)   Permitting any dog unreasonably to cause annoyance, alarm or noise disturbance to any person or neighborhood by barking, whining, screeching, howling, or other like sounds which may be heard beyond the boundary of the owner, keeper or harborer's property under conditions where the animal sounds are shown to have occurred either as an episode of continuous noise lasting for a minimum period of fifteen (15) minutes, or repeated episodes of intermittent noise lasting for a minimum period of thirty (30) minutes. It shall be an affirmative defense under this division that the animal was intentionally provoked by a party other than the owner to make such noise. 
(Ord. 2017-95.  Passed 7-10-17.)

618.08 REGISTRATION OF DOGS REQUIRED.

   Except for guide, leader or listener dogs, or dogs in training to become guide, leader or listener dogs, registered under Ohio R.C. 955.011, and dogs kept by an institution or organization for teaching and research purposes under Ohio R.C. 955.16, no owner, keeper or harborer of a dog more than three months of age, nor owner of a dog kennel, shall fail to file an application for registration required by Ohio R.C. 955.01, nor shall he or she fail to pay the legal fee therefor. (ORC 955.21)

618.09 HINDERING CAPTURE OF UNREGISTERED DOG.

   No person shall obstruct or interfere with anyone lawfully engaged in capturing an unregistered dog or making an examination of a dog wearing a tag.

(ORC 955.24)

618.10 UNLAWFUL TAGS.

   No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog wearing a fictitious, altered or invalid registration tag or a registration tag not issued by the County Auditor in connection with the registration of such animal. (ORC 955.25)

618.11 RABIES QUARANTINE; INSPECTION.

   (a)   Whenever any animal has bitten any person, the Chief of Police or any member of the Police Department may order such animal quarantined in the County Dog Kennels or in a veterinarian's kennels for a period not longer than ten days, or may order the examination and inspection of such animal at the County Dog Kennels or by a qualified veterinarian immediately after such biting and ten days thereafter for the purpose of determining the presence of rabies or other communicable disease and preventing the spread of the same.

   (b)   If the owner or person in possession of such an animal fails or refuses to comply with such an order, any member of the Police Department may seize such animal and have it impounded in the County Dog Kennels for such time as may be necessary to examine or quarantine such animal for rabies or other communicable disease. Any expense or cost incurred by the City in connection with such examination or quarantine shall be charged to and collected from the owner of such animal.

(1964 Code §52.04)

   (c)   No person shall fail to cause an animal to be quarantined or inspected in conformity with the order referred to in subsection (a) hereof or obstruct or hinder any police officer of the City in the enforcement of any of the provisions of this section.

(Ord. 1970-135. Passed 11-16-70.)

618.12 NUISANCE CONDITIONS PROHIBITED.

   (a)   No person shall keep or harbor any animal or fowl in the Municipality so as to create offensive odors, excessive noise or unsanitary conditions which are a menace to the health, comfort or safety of the public, or otherwise permit the commission or existence of a nuisance as hereinafter defined.

     (b)     Any animal which by biting or frequent or habitual barking, howling or yelping which constitutes a violation(s) of Section 618.07, or which in any way or manner injures or disturbs the quiet of any person or the community, or which disturbs or endangers the comfort, repose or health of persons, is hereby declared to be committing a nuisance.  It shall be unlawful for any owner, keeper or harborer of such animal to harbor or permit it to commit such nuisance.

   (c)   Any animal which scratches, digs, urinates or defecates upon any lawn, tree, shrub, plant, building or other public or private property, other than the property of the owner, keeper or harborer of such animal, is hereby declared to be a nuisance.

   (d)   No person, being the owner, keeper or harborer of any animal shall allow or permit such animal to commit a nuisance upon any school grounds, City park or other public property, or upon any private property other than that of the owner, keeper or harborer of such animal, without the permission of the owner of such property.  Where the owner, keeper or harborer of such animal immediately removes all feces deposited by such animal and disposes of same in a sanitary manner, such nuisance shall be considered abated.

   (e)   No person, being an owner, tenant, agent, occupant, or person in control of any property, shall cause or knowingly permit a nuisance by providing food for or feeding any stray dog, cat or other wildlife, including but not limited to, birds, water fowl, raccoons, opossums, skunks, rabbits, deer, and coyotes whether or not it creates an unsanitary condition; cause inconvenience, discomfort, or damage to another; or endanger the comfort, repose, health or safety of others; or in any way render other persons insecure in life or in the use of their property.

      (1)   This section does not apply to song birds fed from a stationary and off-ground/hanging bird feeder;

      (2)   This section shall not apply to a law enforcement officer, game officer or conservation officer enforcing the laws of the State of Ohio, or any local ordinances, nor to anyone officially authorized by the City to engage in an animal control program, including, without limitation, a feral cap Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return Program or similar program.

      (3)   The City may also initiate a civil action in an appropriate court for injunctive and other relief for a violation of this section.

         (Ord. 2019-93.  Passed 8-5-19.)

618.121 ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE.

   No person being the owner, keeper or harborer of any animal shall continue to keep or harbor within this City any animal which is or creates a nuisance as defined by Section 618.12, unless such animal is confined or otherwise kept under strict control as to abate the nuisance, and in the case of a dangerous or vicious dog, is restrained and confined in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.  (Ord.  1999-17.  Passed 1-19-99.)