(a) “At large” means a dog that is off the premises of the owner, keeper, or harborer, and not under the direct control, custody, charge or possession of the owner, keeper, or harborer or other responsible person.
(b) “Direct control” means immediate and continuous physical control of an animal at all times by means such as a fence, leash, cord or chain of sufficient strength to restrain the animal, or in the case of specifically trained or hunting animals which immediately respond to such commands.
(c) “Dangerous dog” means a dog that, without, provocation, chases or approaches a person in either a menacing fashion, or attempts to bite or otherwise endanger any person while that dog is off the premises of its owner, keeper, or harborer and not under the physical control of its owner, keeper, harborer or other responsible person.
(d) “Vicious dog” means a dog that, without provocation, has killed or caused serious bodily injury to any person or other domestic animal, or has been possessed, trained, or used for purposes of dog fighting. It does not include a police dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person or that has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person while the police dog is being used to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties; or a dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person while that person was committing or attempting to commit a trespass or other criminal offense on the property of the owner, keeper, or harborer of the dog.
(e) “Police dog” means a dog that has been trained, and may be used, to assist one or more law enforcement officers in the performance of their official duties.
(f) “Without provocation.” A dog is “without provocation” if the animal was not being tormented, teased, physically abused or attempted to be hurt at the time of the incident by a person or other animal, or that the dog was not coming to the aid or defense of a person who was not engaged in illegal or criminal activity and who was not using the dog as means of carrying out such activity. An animal is “without provocation” if a reasonable person would conclude that the animal was not defending itself, its owner or an immediate family member of its owner, or another person within its immediate vicinity from an actual assault, or was defending real property belonging to its owner or an immediate family member of its owner from a crime being committed on the owner’s property at that time. An animal is “without provocation” if the victim is alleged to have provoked the animal and the victim is less than 6 years old.
(g) “Serious bodily injury” means a bodily injury which, either at the time of the actual injury or at a later time, involves a substantial risk of death, permanent incapacity, whether partial or total, temporary substantial incapacity, permanent disfigurement or temporary, serious disfigurement, acute pain of a duration that results in substantial suffering, or any degree of prolonged or intractable pain.
(h) “Menacing fashion” means a dog that would cause any person being chased or approached to reasonably believe that the dog will cause physical injury to that person.
(i) “Owner, keeper, or harborer” means any person owning, handling, keeping, possessing, harboring, maintaining or having the care, custody or control of an animal, or the parents or guardian of a minor owning, keeping, possessing, harboring, maintaining or having the care, custody or control of an animal.
(Ord. 05-07. Passed 5-2-05.)