(A) Generally. The owner is responsible for the care, actions and behavior of his or her animals.
(B) Public nuisance. It shall be unlawful for any dog owner to allow his or her dog to habitually or repeatedly be at large or chase, snap at, attack or bark at pedestrians, bicyclists or vehicles, turn over garbage pails, damage gardens, flowers or vegetables or conduct itself so as to be a public nuisance, or to permit a female dog to run at large while in heat.
(C) Keeping stray dogs; requirements, failure to surrender.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person in the town knowingly and intentionally to harbor, feed, keep in possession by confinement or otherwise, any dog which does not belong to him or her, unless he or she has, within 24 hours from the time the dog came into his or her possession, notified the animal control shelter.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to surrender any stray dog to an authorized representative of the animal shelter upon demand of the representative.
(D) Wearing of collar, tags and identification required.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any dog owner to fail to provide his or her dog with a collar or harness to which current vaccination and identification tags are securely attached.
(2) A collar or harness with attached tags must be worn at all times except when the dog is confined to an enclosure on the owner's premises, or during the time animals are performing at shows, obedience trials, tracking tests, field trials, training schools or other events sanctioned and supervised by a recognized organization.
(E) Vicious animals. It shall be unlawful for any owner to keep any vicious, fierce or dangerous animal within the town unless it is confined within a secure building or enclosure, or unless it is securely muzzled and under restraint by a competent person who, by means of a leash, chain or other like device, has the animal firmly under control at all times.
(F) Barking dogs. It shall be unlawful for any dog owner to keep or have within a densely populated area a dog that habitually or repeatedly barks in a manner or to the extent so that it is a public nuisance.
(G) Injuring dogs; notice required. It shall be unlawful for any person injuring a dog by running over or into same, or coming into contact with same, with automobile, motorcycle, bicycle or other vehicle to fail to notify immediately the owner of the dog, the animal shelter or the Police Department.
(H) Cruel treatment.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to molest, torment, torture, deprive of necessary sustenance, cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate or kill, wound, injure, poison, abandon or subject to conditions detrimental to its health or general welfare any animal or to cause or procure the action.
(2) The words "torture" or "torment" shall be held to include every act, omission or neglect whereby unjustifiable physical pain, suffering or death is caused or permitted; but the terms shall not be construed to prohibit lawful shooting of birds, deer or other game for human food, nor to prohibit the Dare County Animal Control Department or its agents or veterinarians from destroying dangerous, unwanted or injured animals in a humane manner.
(I) Interference with Animal Control Department. It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with, hinder or molest the Dare County Animal Control Department or its agents, or Animal Control Officers or veterinarians in the performance of any duty authorized by this chapter.
(Ord. 04-18, passed 7-7-2004) Penalty, see § 10.99