CHAPTER 90: ANIMALS
Section
   90.01   Definitions
   90.02   Licensing
   90.03   Permits for commercial animal establishments, zoological parks, or animal shelters
   90.04   Proper outdoor dog shelter, care and protection standards
   90.05   Restraint
   90.06   License and permit issuance and revocation
   90.07   Female dogs in estrus (heat)
   90.08   Vicious or dangerous animals
   90.09   Animal behavior/actions
   90.10   Wild animals
   90.11   Impoundment and violation notice
   90.12   Animal waste and dead or decaying animals
   90.13   Sterilization
   90.14   Quarantine and rabies
   90.15   Declaring an animal to be a public nuisance or vicious
   90.16   Enforcement
 
   90.99   Penalty
§ 90.01 DEFINITIONS.
   For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. Any term not defined in this chapter shall have the meaning as defined in any other chapter of the County Code. Any term not defined in the County Code shall have its generally accepted meaning.
   ANIMAL. Any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild.
   ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL AUTHORITY. The organization, agency, or corporation designated by the County Commissioners to supervise the provisions of this chapter and to operate the county’s animal shelter.
   ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER. Any person specifically designated by the County Commissioners to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
   ANIMAL EXHIBITION. Any spectacle, display, act, or event other than circuses, in which animals are used.
   ANIMAL SHELTER. Any facility operated by a humane organization, tax exempt organization, or municipal agency, or its authorized agents for the purpose of impounding or caring for animals.
   AT LARGE. Not under control or unrestrained while not on its owner’s property.
   AUCTIONS. Any place or facility where animals are regularly bought, sold, or traded, except for those facilities otherwise defined in this chapter. This chapter does not apply to individual sales of animals by owners.
   CATTERY. Any premises on which, for remuneration, any person engages in the business of boarding cats or, for the purpose of selling them, breeding more than two litters of cats per year.
   CIRCUS. A commercial variety show featuring animal acts for public entertainment.
   COMMERCIAL ANIMAL ESTABLISHMENT. Any pet shop, grooming shop, zoological park, circus, animal exhibition, cattery, or kennel.
   DOMESTIC ANIMAL. Animals which, through extremely long association with humans, have been bred to a degree which has resulted in genetic changes affecting the temperament, color, conformation, or other attributes of the species to an extent that makes them unique and distinguishable from wild individuals of their species. DOMESTIC ANIMALS include but are not limited to farm animals and pets such as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and other small rodents, European ferrets and hedgehogs, nonpoisonous reptiles, and amphibians, parakeets, cockatiels, and other commercially raised birds.
   EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURE. The temperature as affected by meteorological conditions such as wind chill or rain.
   ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. Animal Care and Control Authority or any police or law enforcement agency.
   EXOTIC ANIMAL. Any animal of a species not occurring naturally, either presently or historically, within the boundaries of this state and shall include any hybrid or crossbred animal which is part exotic or wild animal.
   FERAL CAT. A domestic cat that does not appear by its behavior or appearance and possibly location found to have been domesticated. A domestic cat that is not tame and behaves as if it were wild.
   HARBOR. The act of feeding or sheltering an animal for three or more consecutive days, or parts of days.
   HEALTH DEPARTMENT. The local Board of Health or the local Health Officer, or both, and their agents, representatives, and assigns.
   KENNEL, COMMERCIAL. Any premises on which any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding more than two litters per year, buying, letting for hire, training for a fee, or selling dogs.
   KENNEL, DOG FANCIER’S. Any premises on which any person harbors or keeps with approval from the Zoning Administrator or BZA, more than three adult dogs and, for the purpose of selling them, does not breed more than two litters per year.
   MOLEST. To interfere with freedom of movement.
   OWNER. Any adult person, partnership, or corporation owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody (either temporarily or permanently) of one or more animals.
   PET. Any domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.
   PET SHOP. Any person, partnership, or corporation, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise, except for a licensed kennel or cattery, that buys, sells, or boards any species of animal excluding temporary sales of small animal such as chicks and rabbits for domestic purposes.
   PUBLIC NUISANCE. Any animal or animals which:
      (1)   Continues to molest passers-by or passing vehicles;
      (2)   Continues to attack human beings or domestic animals;
      (3)   Has severely injured or killed a human being or repeatedly severely injured a domestic animal;
      (4)   Is repeatedly at large, or is a stray;
      (5)   Continues to damage private or public property;
      (6)   Continues to disturb the neighbor(s) or the community; or
      (7)   Is found to be in violation of vicious animal restraint requirements.
   PURSUE. To follow in order to capture, contain, or if necessary, destroy.
   QUARANTINE. Strict confinement by leash, paddock, or closed cage in a manner to prevent contact with humans and other animals for at least ten days, or as ordered by the Health Department.
   RESPONSIBLE PERSON. A person age 16 or older who could reasonably be expected to be capable of effectively controlling the animal in question.
   RESTRAINT. Any animal secured and under effective control by a leash or lead, or under the effective control of a responsible person and obedient to that person’s commands if off lead, or within the real property limits of its owner.
   STRAY. A domesticated animal which does not have a collar, identification tag, license, microchip, or is not claimed by its owner.
   TEMPORARY SALES. Sales for a period not to exceed 90 days per year.
   VETERINARY HOSPITAL. Any establishment, maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian for surgery, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals.
   VICIOUS ANIMAL. Any animal that constitutes by its actions a physical threat to human beings, other domestic animals, or both.
   WILD ANIMAL.
      (1)   An animal which is not defined as a domestic animal and is incapable of being completely domesticated or tamed;
      (2)   An animal which in its natural state is wild, dangerous, or ferocious and though it may be trained and habituated by the owner will remain dangerous to the public at large; or
      (3)   Any hybrid or crossbred animal, which is part exotic or wild.
   WOLF HYBRID. Any animal that is advertised, registered, licensed, or otherwise described or represented as a WOLF HYBRID by its owner or any animal exhibiting primary physical and behavioral wolf characteristics.
   ZOOLOGICAL PARK.  Any property displaying, harboring, or exhibiting one or more species of wild or exotic animals owned by a person, partnership, corporation, or governmental agency. (Does not include farm/agricultural animals.)
(2004 Code, § 81-1) (Ord. 26, passed 1-21-1980; Ord. 26B, passed 10-30-1984; Ord. 26C, passed 7-29-1986; Ord. 26D, passed 8-28-1990; Ord. 02-23, passed 11-26-2002; Ord. 06-15, passed 11-28-2006; Ord. 2015-04, passed 7-2-2015)
§ 90.02 LICENSING.
   (A)   An owner of a dog shall obtain a license for the dog as herein provided, unless the dog is less than four months old.
   (B)   Written application for licenses shall be made to the Animal Care and Control Authority (or its agents) which shall include name, address, and telephone number of applicant, a description of the animal, proof of neutering and rabies vaccination, and the appropriate fee.
   (C)   If not revoked, the license for the keeping of a dog shall be for a period of the calendar year.
   (D)   The owner of a dog shall apply for a license upon obtaining a dog as required by this chapter to be licensed, and the owner of a dog shall apply for a license immediately upon the dog attaining the age of four months.
   (E)   License fees shall not be required for seeing eye dogs, hearing ear dogs, service dogs, or governmentally owned dogs; however, they must be licensed.
   (F)   Upon acceptance of the license application and fee, the Animal Care and Control Authority shall issue a durable tag stamped with an identifying number and the year of issuance. Tags should be designed so that they may be conveniently fastened or riveted to the animal’s collar or harness.
   (G)   The owner of a dog shall require that the dog wear identification tags (as provided in division (F) above) at all times, unless actually being shown at a dog show or event, recognized as such by the Animal Care and Control Authority, or the dog is actually being run on a hunt and is under the effective control of its owner.
   (H)   The Animal Care and Control Authority shall maintain a record of the identifying numbers of all tags issued for a period of three years and shall make this record available to the public.
   (I)   The licensing period shall begin January 1 and shall run for one year. Application for license may be made 30 days prior to the start of the new year.
   (J)   A license may be issued after payment of a fee of $5 for each spayed or neutered dog required to be licensed, and a fee of $25 for each unspayed or unneutered dog required to be licensed. For owners age 62 and over, the fees shall be $3 for each spayed or neutered dog required to be licensed, and $10 for each unspayed or unneutered dog required to be licensed. Persons who fail to obtain a license as required herein before March 1 of any year will be subjected to a penalty of $10 for each license that was not obtained. This penalty shall be in addition to any citation issued under the provisions of § 90.16 or § 90.99.
   (K)   A duplicate license may be obtained upon payment of a replacement fee of $1.
   (L)   No person may use any license for any animal other than the animal for which it was issued.
   (M)   Any person, partnership, or corporation who harbors an unlicensed dog, or while the owner or lessor of property allows an unlicensed dog to be harbored on the property, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 90.99, unless the dog is not required to be licensed.
   (N)   If required by an Animal Control Officer or the Animal Care and Control Authority to obtain a license, the owner shall provide the Animal Control Officer or the Animal Care and Control Authority with the current year’s license number within 15 days of the request for documentation of licensing.
(2004 Code, § 81-2) (Ord. 26, passed 1-21-1980; Ord. 26A, passed 4-13-1981; Ord. 26B, passed 10-30-1984; Ord. 26C, passed 7-29-1986; Ord. 26D, passed 8-28-1990; Ord. 02-23, passed 11-26-2002; Ord. 06-15, passed 11-28- 2006)
§ 90.03 PERMITS FOR COMMERCIAL ANIMAL ESTABLISHMENTS, ZOOLOGICAL PARKS, OR ANIMAL SHELTERS.
   (A)   No person, partnership, or corporation shall operate a commercial establishment, zoological park, or animal shelter without first obtaining a permit in compliance with this section. However, temporary sales of small animals such as chicks and rabbits for domestic purposes at businesses or residences shall be exempt from this section.
   (B)   The Animal Care and Control Authority shall promulgate rules and regulations for the issuance of permits which shall include requirements for humane care of all animals and for compliance with the provisions of this chapter and other applicable laws. The Animal Care and Control Authority may amend such regulations from time to time as deemed desirable for public health and welfare and for the protection and humane care of animals.
   (C)   Upon an inspection confirming that an applicant for a permit is willing and able to comply with the regulations promulgated by the Animal Care and Control Authority, a permit shall be issued upon payment of the applicable fee.
   (D)   The permit period shall begin January 1 and shall run for one year. Renewal applications for permits shall be made 30 days prior to and up to 60 days after the start of the new year. Application for permit to establish a new commercial animal establishment under the provisions of this chapter may be made at any time.
   (E)   If there is a change in ownership of a commercial animal establishment, the new owner may have the current permit transferred to his or her name upon payment of a transfer fee of $20.
   (F)   Annual permits shall be issued after passing inspection and upon payment of the applicable fees. Dog fanciers’ kennel permits shall be issued to persons age 62 and over at one-half of the rate listed. Infrequent, de minimis increases in the number of animals kept at a commercial kennel or cattery shall not affect the permit price:
      (1)   For each commercial kennel, authorized to house no more than ten dogs: $75;
      (2)   For each fancier kennel: $100 if more than three dogs are intact, $150 if more than five;
      (3)   For each commercial kennel authorized to house 11 through 25 dogs: $150;
      (4)   For each fancier kennel: $250 if more than three dogs are intact, $400 if more than seven;
      (5)   For each cattery authorized to house no more than ten cats: $75;
      (6)   For each cattery authorized to house 11 through 25 cats: $150;
      (7)   For each commercial kennel authorized to house 26 through 50 dogs: $175;
      (8)   For each cattery authorized to house 26 through 50 cats: $100;
      (9)   For each commercial kennel authorized to house more than 50 dogs: $200;
      (10)   For each cattery authorized to house more than 50 cats: $200;
      (11)   For each pet shop: $175;
      (12)   For each grooming shop: $175; and
      (13)   For all other commercial animal establishments: $175.
   (G)   Every facility regulated by this chapter shall be considered a separate enterprise and requires an individual permit.
   (H)   Persons operating kennels for the breeding of dogs may elect to license such dogs individually, subject to Chapter 158, Zoning.
   (I)   No fee may be required of any not-for-profit animal shelter or government-operated zoological park; however, it shall have a current permit or license and be in compliance to operate.
   (J)   Any person who has a change in the category under which a permit was issued shall be subject to reclassification, and appropriate adjustment of the permit fee shall be made.
   (K)   The Animal Care and Control Authority shall maintain a record of the permits issued pursuant to this section for a period of three years and shall make this record available to the public.
(2004 Code, § 81-3) (Ord. 26, passed 1-21-1980; Ord. 26C, passed 7-29-1986; Ord. 26D, passed 8-28-1990; Ord. 02-23, passed 11-26-2002; Ord. 06-15, passed 11-28-2006; Ord. 2015-04, passed 7-2-2015)
§ 90.04 PROPER OUTDOOR DOG SHELTER, CARE AND PROTECTION STANDARDS.
   (A)   Between December 1 and March 15 and whenever the real or effective temperature is 35ºF or lower, the following shall be provided:
      (1)   Dog shelter shall have a weatherproof roof, the entryway shall be protected by a self-closing door, an offset outer door, or a flexible flap made of windproof material. The floor shall be solid and raised off the ground at least two inches. No interior surfaces shall be metal. The dog shelter shall be facing south or east, away from the prevailing winds;
      (2)   Bedding, such as wood shavings, straw or other nonabsorbent material shall be provided in sufficient quantity for insulation against cold and damp. Bedding shall be kept dry;
      (3)   If there is no artificial heat source, structures shall be small enough to allow the dog to warm the interior of the structure and maintain his or her body heat but large enough to permit ease of entry and normal postural adjustments; and
      (4)   Fresh water without ice shall be made available to the dog a minimum of twice daily. The receptacle shall be made unable to be tipped over.
   (B)   During the summer months between June 1 and September 15 or whenever the real temperature is above 80ºF, shade, either natural or man-made, shall be made available to a confined dog between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
      (1)   Fresh water shall always be made available. The water receptacle shall be made unable to be tipped over.
      (2)   Under no circumstances shall a dog shelter be considered shade during the summer months.
   (C)   Proper shelter including protection from the weather and elements shall be provided. The shelter for a dog shall have a weatherproof roof, enclosed sides, a doorway, and a solid floor raised at least two inches from the ground and no interior surfaces shall be metal.
   (D)   A dog kennel for outside dogs shall meet the minimum size requirements as listed in Table 90.04. The requirements in Table 90.04 are not applicable to commercial kennels, veterinary hospitals, or pet stores.
 
Table 90.04: Kennel Minimum Size Requirements
Number of Dogs
Kennel Size
Small (up to 25 lbs)
Medium (25-50 lbs)
Large (over 50 lbs)
1
3 x 7 (21 sq. ft.)
6 x 10 (60 sq. ft.)
8 x 10 (80 sq. ft.)
2
4 x 8 (32 sq. ft.)
8 x 10 (80 sq. ft.)
10 x 10 (100 sq. ft.)
3
5 x 9 (45 sq. ft.)
8 x 12 (96 sq. ft.)
10 x 14 (140 sq. ft.)
4
8 x 10 (80 sq. ft.)
10 x 12 (120 sq. ft.)
12 x 16 (192 sq. ft.)
 
(2004 Code, § 81-4) (Ord. 06-15, passed 11-28-2006)
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