Each owner or agent having custody or charge of, harboring, or exercising control over a domestic pet shall provide the following minimum standards of care for each such animal:
(A) Each domestic pet shall have access to a shelter which will protect it from the weather and allow it to stand, sit, turn around, and lie down without restriction. The shelter must be structurally sound, moisture proof and windproof, and provide adequate protection from the cold and heat, including bedding to provide insulation and protection against cold and dampness and promote the retention of body heat in cold weather. The shelter must be placed in a dry area free of debris, feces, and standing water.
(B) Each domestic pet shall have sufficient and wholesome food and water, which is proper and nutritional for that species of animal.
(C) If a domestic pet is ill, diseased or injured, it shall receive proper veterinary care as necessary to promote the good health of the domestic pet and prevent the transmittal of disease to other animals or humans.
(D) No domestic pet shall be abandoned, beaten, ill-treated, tormented, or otherwise abused or neglected, or involved in any dog fight, or other fight between animals or between animals and humans.
(E) A domestic pet shall be kept under restraint when in heat so as to prevent unintentional breeding.
(F) If a domestic pet is chained or tethered, the chain or tether shall not weight more than one-eighth of the animal’s body weight, shall be at least ten feet in length and have swivels on both ends, so as to reduce the likelihood of entanglement. A chain or tether used to restrain a domestic pet must, by design and placement, be unlikely to become entangled.
(G) No domestic pet shall be kept or maintained on a tether for a period of more than ten continuous hours, nor for no more than 12 hours in any 24 period, nor for any duration under conditions which threaten the health or well being of the domestic pet.
(H) A muzzle may not be worn by a dog continuously as a means for controlling barking.
(Ord. 18-2011, passed 8-22-11) Penalty, see § 91.99