(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DOMESTIC ANIMAL. Any dog, other than a vicious dog, cat, or, for the purposes of this chapter only, farm animals (including, but not limited to, cattle, horses, mules, sheep, swine, goats, and chickens).
KEEPING. Allowing a dog or other animal to habitually remain and/or be lodged within a house, store, building, enclosure, or premises.
VICIOUS DOG.
(a) Any dog with a propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or other domestic animals;
(b) Any dog which has previously attacked or bitten a human being or other domestic animal other than under what would be considered a justifiable circumstances;
(c) Any dog which has behaved in such a manner that the owner thereof knows or should reasonably know that the dog is possessed of a tendency to attack or bite human beings or other domestic animals other than under what would be considered justifiable circumstances; or
(d) The records of the county treasurer's office showing the name of the owner and the license number issued to that owner, and proof that a tag with the same number was affixed to the collar of a dog shall be prima facie proof of ownership of that dog.
(B) Cruelty to animals. No person shall overdrive, overload, drive when overloaded, overwork, torture, torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, cruelly beat, mutilate, or cruelly kill, or cause or procure to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, cruelly beaten, mutilated, or cruelly killed, any animal. Further, no person having the charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, shall inflict unnecessary cruelly upon the same, or willfully fail to provide the same with proper food, drink, shelter, or protection from the weather. The cropping of dogs' ears shall be considered to be a mutilation or cruelty to an animal within the meaning of this section, unless the cropping is performed by a registered veterinary surgeon, while the dog is under anesthetic.
(C) Keeping of certain animals prohibited.
(1) It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor, own, or in any way possess:
(a) Any warm-blooded, carnivorous, or omnivorous, wild, or exotic animal, or dangerous or undomesticaled animal which is not of a species customarily used as an ordinary household pet, but which would ordinarily be confined in a zoo, or one which would ordinarily be found in the wilderness or wild of this or any other country, or one which otherwise causes a reasonable person to be fearful of bodily harm or property damage, including, but not limited to, nonhuman primates, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and wild and exotic cats, but excluding fowl, ferrets, and small rodents of varieties used for laboratory purposes; or
(b) Any animal having poisonous bites.
(2) Any person in possession of a state department of natural resources possession permit or game breeder's license, or United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service federal fish and wildlife license or permit for an animal otherwise prohibited by this section shall be allowed to keep, harbor, own, or possess the animal specified in said permit or license; however, the permit or license shall not be amended to include any additional animal prohibited by this section.
(D) Animal noise. The following noises and disturbances are hereby declared to be a violation of this section, provided, however, that the specification of the same is not thereby to be construed to exclude other violations of this chapter not specifically enumerated: the keeping of any animal, bird, or fowl which emanates frequent or extended noise which shall unreasonably disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of any persons in the vicinity, such as allowing or permitting any dog or other animal to bark, howl, or yelp repeatedly in an area where that barking, howling, or yelping can be clearly heard from nearby residential property or to allow any animal to create any other noise that causes serious annoyance or disturbance to the neighborhood in which the animal is owned, kept, or harbored or to persons passing upon the sidewalks, street, or highways.
(E) Domestic animals running at large.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, keeping, harboring, or having charge of any domestic animal (including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, cattle, horses, mules, sheep, swine, goats, chickens, and any other farm animal) to suffer or permit the domestic animal to run at large.
(2) A domestic animal shall be deemed to be running at large when the domestic animal shall wander unrestrained on any street, alley, park, or public place or upon any private property other than that of the person owning, keeping, harboring, or having charge of such domestic animal. A domestic animal shall be considered restrained if the domestic animal is on a leash no longer than 8 feet and that the leash is held by a person of sufficient size to control the domestic animal.
(3) It shall be lawful for any police officer of the Charter Township of Clayton to seize any domestic animal running at large in the Charter Township of Clayton in violation of this section.
(F) Abandonment of animals. It shall be unlawful for any person who is the owner of, in the possession of, or has control of any dog, cat, domestic fowl, horse, cattle, swine, or other domestic animal as defined in § 130.02(A) herein to abandon the animal with the Charter Township of Clayton or to willfully or negligently allow any animal to suffer unnecessary torture or pain.
(G) Domestic animals that trespass. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, harbor, or have charge of any domestic animal, licensed, or unlicensed, that by the destruction of property or trespassing on the property of another person, other than the person owning, keeping, harboring, or having charge of such domestic animal, shall become a nuisance in the vicinity where so kept.
(H) Creating unsanitary conditions.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, keeping, harboring, or having charge of any dog or cat or any domestic animal as defined in § 130.02(A) whether licensed or unlicensed to collect, confine, keep, or harbor such animal in a structure, pen, coop, yard, or otherwise so as to create an unsanitary, unwholesome, malodorous, or other obnoxious or unclean condition.
(2) Any person owning, keeping, harboring, or having charge of any domestic animal shall keep the yard, pen, shelter, or building provided and maintained for the confinement of such domestic animal or that is used for the housing, harboring, or keeping of such domestic animal, clean by removing from the premises all manure and waste matter from which odors may arise or which may act as vermin harborage. Such cleaning shall occur as needed to maintain sanitary conditions.
(I) Keeping of vicious dogs. The keeping of vicious dogs as defined in § 130.02
(A)(3) of this chapter shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) Leash and muzzle. No person shall permit a vicious dog to go outside its kennel, pen, or its owner's home unless such dog is securely leashed with a leash no longer than 4 feet in length. No person shall permit such a dog to be kept on a chain, rope, or other type of leash outside its kennel, pen, or its owner's home unless a person is in physical control of the leash. Such dogs may not be leashed to an inanimate object such as a tree, post, or building. Any dog on a leash outside the dog's kennel, pen, or owner's home must be muzzled by a muzzling device sufficient to prevent such dog from biting a person or other animal.
(2) Confinement. A vicious dog shall be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel, except when leashed and muzzled as provided in division(I)(1). Such pen, kennel, or structure must have secure sides and a secure top attached to its sides. All structures used to confine such dogs must be locked with a key or a combination lock when such animals are within the structure. Such a structure must have a secure bottom or floor attached to the sides of the pen or the sides of the pen must be embedded in the ground to a depth of no less than 2 feet. All structures erected to house such dogs must comply with all zoning and building regulations of the Charter Township of Clayton. All such structures must be adequately lighted, ventilated, and kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
(3) Confinement indoors. No vicious dog may be kept on a porch, patio, or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit such house or structure on its own volition. In addition, no such animal may be kept in a house or structure where window screens or screen doors are the only obstacle preventing the dog from exiting the structure.
(4) Signs. All owners or keepers of vicious dogs within the Charter Township of Clayton shall display in a prominent place on their premises a sign easily readable by the public using the words "Beware of Dog." In addition, a similar sign must be posted on the kennel or pen of such animals.
(J) Reporting requirements. Any owner or keeper of a vicious dog must, within 1 day of any incident as listed below, provide the following information to the Charter Township of Clayton Police Department:
(1) Notice of the removal of the vicious dog from the Charter Township of Clayton or death of the vicious dog;
(2) The birth of the offspring of a vicious dog;
(3) The new address of a vicious dog if the owner or keeper moves within the Charier Township of Clayton limits; and
(4) The dog is on the loose, has been stolen, or has attacked a person or another animal.
(K) Seizure of domestic animal. The failure of the owner or keeper of a domestic animal as defined in § 130.02(A) herein to comply with any of the requirements and conditions set forth in § 130.02
shall subject the domestic animal to immediate seizure and impoundment.
(Ord. 374, passed 1-8-1998; Am. Ord. 470, passed 3-12-2015) Penalty, see § 130.99