(A) DANGEROUS ANIMAL means:
(1) Any animal which demonstrates behavior and/or possesses the vicious propensity to inflict serious bodily injury or death upon human beings and/or other animals, and constitutes a danger to human life or other animals;
(2) Any animal which has behaved in such a manner that the owner thereof knows, or reasonably should know, that the animal possesses tendencies to commit unprovoked attacks or to injure human beings or other animals;
(3) Any animal certified by a doctor of veterinary medicine, after observation thereof, as posing a danger to human beings or animals; and/or
(4) Any animal which, without provocation, assaults an individual or animal, or any animal which commits an unprovoked act which causes a person, acting in a reasonable and nonaggressive manner, to reasonably believe that the animal will attack and cause bodily injury to that person or animal.
(B) No person shall knowingly sell, own, offer for sale, breed, possess, keep, buy or attempt to buy, or train a dangerous animal within the city, unless the owner has received proper permits and/or authorizations pursuant to this subchapter.
(C) The owner of a dangerous animal shall be required to:
(1) Register the dangerous animal with the city;
(2) Obtain liability insurance in an amount not less than $300,000 covering bodily injury or death of any person or animal, or for damages to any person’s or entity’s property, resulting from the keeping of such dangerous animals;
(3) Restrain the dangerous animal at all times on a leash in the immediate control of the owner or in a secure pen enclosure;
(4) Provide to the city the name and address of the owner, breed, age, sex, color, and any other identifying marks of said animal, the location where the animal is to be kept if not at the address of the owner, two color photographs of the dangerous animal, and the aforementioned certificate of liability insurance;
(5) Provide proof of the required documents necessary to register the animal, and pay the required annual registration fee of $100. The city shall provide to the owner a registration tag designating the animal as dangerous. The owner must place the tag on the animal’s collar and must ensure that the animal wears such tag and collar at all times; and
(6) Not allow the animal to go outside its pen, cage, or enclosure unless the animal is under physical restraint and securely muzzled. No person shall permit a dangerous animal to be kept outside its cage, pen, or enclosure on a chain, rope, or other leash type. Dangerous animals shall not be leashed to inanimate objects such as trees, posts, buildings, and the like. Signs giving notice of the dangerous animal shall be prominently displayed so that all persons entering said property are immediately notified a dangerous animal is being kept at the location.
(D) The pen, cage, or enclosure for a dangerous animal must be constructed from materials of sufficient strength to prevent the animal’s escape, and must have secure sides, a secure top attached to the sides, and a secure bottom which is either attached to the sides or constructed so that the sides of the structure are embedded no less than two feet in the ground.
(E) In the event that any animal is declared to be a dangerous animal, and/or where a wild or exotic animal is found in violation of any provision of this subchapter or state law, such animal may be seized immediately and impounded by the city. Where said animal is found at-large and is presenting a clear and present danger of imminent bodily injury and/or death to the ACO, other human beings, or animals, the animal may be destroyed and the owner notified if the owner can be reasonably established.
(Res. 2009-002, passed 2-10-2009) Penalty, see § 90.99