The following provisions are in accordance with and intended in furtherance of the Rabies Control Act of 1981, Article 4477- 6a, V.T.CA and the rules enacted by the Texas Board of Health pursuant to Article 4477-6a, Section 2.01(f), V.T.C.A., entitled "Rabies Control and Eradication, 169.21-169.33 which provisions are hereby adopted.
(A) For the City of Canton, the Local Health Authority and/or Local Health Officer shall be the Chief of Police or his designee.
(B) Every owner of a dog or cat four months of age or older shall have such animal vaccinated against rabies. Annual re-vaccination shall be required within each subsequent 12 month interval thereafter. Any person moving into the City of Canton from a location outside of the city shall comply with this section within ten days after having moved within the corporate city limits. This ten day grace period shall not apply to persons offering animals for sale or trade, and such persons must be in compliance with all applicable provisions of this section.
(C) Upon vaccination, the veterinarian shall execute and furnish to the owner of the dog or cat, as evidence thereof, a certificate upon a form furnished by the veterinarian. The veterinarian shall retain his copy for a minimum period of three years from date of issuance. Such certificate shall contain the following information:
(1) Owner's name, address, and telephone number;
(2) Animal identification: species, age, sex, size (in pounds), predominant breed and colors;
(3) Vaccine used, producer, expiration date, and serial number;
(4) Date vaccinated;
(5) Rabies tag number; and
(6) Veterinarian's signature and license number.
(D) Concurrent with the issuance and delivery of the certificate of vaccination referred to in division (C) above, the owner of any dog shall cause to be attached to the collar or harness of the vaccinated dog a metal tag, serially numbered to correspond with the vaccination certificate number and bearing the year of issuance and the name of the issuing veterinarian and his address.
(E) In the event of loss or destruction of the original tag provided in this section, the owner of the dog shall obtain a duplicate tag.
(F) It shall be unlawful for any person who owns or harbors a vaccinated dog or cat to fail or to refuse to exhibit his or her copy of the certificate of vaccination upon demand to any person charged with the enforcement of this chapter.
(G) It shall be unlawful for any person to harbor any dog or cat which has not been vaccinated against rabies, as provided herein, or which cannot be identified as having a current vaccination certificate.
(H) Any person having knowledge of the existence of any animal known to have been, or suspected of being exposed to rabies must immediately report such knowledge to the Local Health Authority giving him or her any information which he or she may require. As to any animal known to have been, or suspected of being exposed to rabies, the following rules must apply:
(1) Unvaccinated animals which have been bitten or directly exposed by physical contact with a rabid animal or its fresh tissues should be:
(a) Humanely killed; or
(b) If sufficient justification for preserving the animal exists, the exposed animal should be immediately vaccinated against rabies, confined for 90 days, and revaccinated on the third and eighth week of confinement.
(2) Vaccinated animals which have been bitten or otherwise significantly exposed to a rabid animal should be:
(a) Humanely killed; or
(b) If sufficient justification for preserving the animal exists, the exposed vaccinated animal should be given a booster rabies vaccination and placed in strict isolation for three months.
(3) These provisions apply only to domestic animals for which an approved rabies vaccine is available.
(I) It shall be unlawful for any person to make use of a stolen, counterfeit or forged rabies vaccination certificate, vaccination tag, or other type license as may be required by this chapter.
(J) It shall be unlawful for any person to use any rabies tag for any dog or cat other than the dog or cat for which such tag was originally issued.
(Ord. 2016-21, passed 10-18-2016; Ord. 2019-18, passed 10-15-2019) Penalty, see §
10.99