(A) Vicious dog.
(1) A vicious dog shall be confined by the owner within a building or secure enclosure and shall be securely muzzled or caged whenever off the premises of the owner or person having custody or control of such dog. Such confinement and restraint shall be sufficient to insure that persons and property will not suffer harm from such dog.
(2) The owner or person having custody or control of a vicious dog not so confined, muzzled or caged commits a Class B ordinance violation for the first offense and a Class A ordinance violation for any subsequent offense. If the vicious dog not so confined, muzzled or caged causes any bodily injury to a person, the offense is a Class A ordinance violation, regardless of whether there have been any prior offenses.
(3) An Animal Control Officer may seize, impound or order the destruction of any vicious dog, and if such dog is seized, impounded or destroyed, the owner of person having custody or control of such dog shall be responsible for payment of all expenses arising from or related to the seizure, impoundment or destruction.
(B) Public nuisance.
(1) An owner or person having custody or control of an animal shall exercise due care and control of such animal so as to prevent the animal from becoming a public nuisance.
(2) An owner or person having custody or control of an animal who permits such animal to become a public nuisance commits a Class C ordinance violation for the first offense and a Class B ordinance violation for any subsequent offense.
(C) Impoundment; alternative penalty.
(1) Any at-large animal, unlicensed dog, vicious dog, female dog in heat that is not confined, or neglected animal, may be taken by law enforcement officers or by an Animal Control Officer and impounded in the animal shelter or impounded at suitable alternative facilities approved by the Commission.
(2) If the owner of an impounded animal can be identified by a license tag or other reasonable means, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately upon impoundment notify such owner by telephone or mail of the impoundment.
(3) For the purpose of notifying owners whose identities cannot reasonably be determined that missing animals may have been impounded pursuant to this ordinance, notice shall be placed weekly in a newspaper of general circulation within the county to that effect. The published notice shall contain the name, address, telephone number and hours of operation of the facility in which the animals are impounded to enable owners to locate and retrieve the animals. Notices individually describing impounded animals are not required.
(4) Any animal that is not claimed by the owner whose identity is determined with three to five days of notification shall become the property of the county and may be placed for adoption or humanely euthanized.
(5) An owner claiming an impounded animal shall pay all costs associated with the seizure and the impoundment of such animal, including all necessary treatment costs, expenses of notification, expenses associated with any legal fees established by the county or any alternative facility approved by the Commission and used to impound such animal.
(6) In addition to or in lieu of impounding an animal, a law enforcement officer or an Animal Control Officer may issue to a person violating any provision of this chapter a notice of ordinance violation. If the person has not paid the fine and all associated expenses within two weeks of receiving such notice, the Animal Control Officer may refer the violation to the County Attorney for further action, which may include prosecution of the violation in court.
(7) All dogs impounded under this section and not registered, licenses, tagged and redeemed shall be placed for adoption or disposed of in a humane manner after the expiration of the following time periods:
(a) Three to five days after notice is given to the owner per division (C)(3) above;
(b) Three to five days after impoundment when the owner is unknown; or
(c) At a time fixed by the court or by law.
(8) Notwithstanding any other language in this ordinance, under no circumstances may a vicious dog be place for adoption.
(D) Impoundment for animal bite.
(1) If an animal has bitten a person, it shall be impounded in the Animal Shelter or a veterinary hospital or kennel acceptable to the Animal Control Officer, at the owner's choice and expense, for a period of ten days in order to determine whether or not the animal has rabies. If the animal dies during the period, it shall, at the owner's expense, be sent to the proper authorities to determine whether or not it was rabid.
(2) An owner who fails to impound an animal after receiving notification to do so by an officer of the Animal Control Commission or the County Health Department commits a Class B ordinance violation. Each day that the owner fails to impound the animal constitutes a separate violation.
(Ord. 2019-13, passed 12-19-2019)
Penalty, see § 90.99