1. No person shall keep, shelter, or harbor a vicious animal for any reason within the City.
2. The Animal Control Officer, in his or her discretion or upon receipt of a complaint alleging that a particular animal is a vicious animal, may initiate proceedings to declare such animal as a vicious animal. A hearing on the matter shall be conducted by the Council. The person owning, keeping, sheltering, or harboring the animal in question shall be given not less than 24 hours’ written notice of the time and place of the hearing. Said notice shall set forth the description of the animal in question and the basis for the allegation of viciousness. The notice shall also set forth that if the animal is determined to be vicious, the owner will be required to remove it from the City or allow it to be destroyed. The notice shall be served upon any adult residing at the premises where the animal is located or may be posted on those premises if no adult is present to accept service.
3. If, after the hearing, the Council determines that an animal is vicious, the Council shall order the person owning, sheltering, harboring, or keeping the animal to remove it from the City, or to cause it to be destroyed in a humane manner. The order shall immediately be served upon the person against whom issued in the same manner as the notice of hearing. If the order is not complied with within three days of its issuance, the Animal Control Officer is authorized to seize and impound the animal. An animal so seized shall be impounded for a period of seven days. If at the end of the impoundment period, the person against whom the order of the Council was issued has not petitioned the District Court for a review of said order, the Animal Control Officer shall cause the animal to be destroyed.
4. Failure to comply with an order of the Council issued pursuant hereto shall constitute a misdemeanor offense.
5. Any animal found at large which displays vicious tendencies may be processed as a vicious animal pursuant to the foregoing, unless the animal is so vicious that it cannot safely be apprehended; in which case, the Animal Control Officer may immediately destroy it, or unless its ownership is not ascertainable, in which case, it may be destroyed after three days’ impoundment.
6. Any animal which is alleged to be vicious and which is under impoundment or quarantine shall not be released to the owner but shall continue to be held at the expense of the owner pending the outcome of the hearing. All costs of such impoundment or quarantine shall be paid by the owner whether or not the animal is determined to be vicious.
7. The prohibition contained in this section does not apply to keeping of guard dogs. However, guard dogs must be kept within a structure or a fenced enclosure at all times, and any guard dog found at large may be processed as a vicious animal pursuant to the provisions of this section. Any premises guarded by a guard dog shall be prominently posted with a sign containing the wording “Guard Dog,” “Vicious Dog,” or words of similar import, and the owner of such premises shall inform the Police Department that a guard dog is on duty at the premises. It is the owner’s responsibility to notify the Police Department immediately when a guard dog has escaped and is running at large.