(a) (Amended by Ord. No. 133,983, Eff. 4/10/67.) Any person finding at any time any stray domestic animal or any such animal found running at large contrary to the provisions of this article may take up such animal; provided, however, that persons taking up such animal shall, within four hours thereafter, or within two hours thereafter if such animal is attached or hitched to a vehicle, give notice to the Department or to some police officer, of the fact that the person has such animal in their possession, and shall furnish thereto a description of such animal and a statement of the place where the person found and where the person has confined the animal.
In case such notice is given to any police officer, such officer shall immediately notify the Department and shall furnish all the information which has been obtained regarding such animal.
If the taking up of such animal occurs at a time when the Public Pound is not open for the transaction of business, the notice required herein shall be made to the Department within the time herein required after such pound is again open for business.
(b) Any person taking up any such stray animal found running at large or contrary to the provisions of this article shall surrender such animal to the General Manager of the Department or the General Manager’s duly authorized representative upon demand thereof.
(c) No person taking up any animal shall fail or neglect to give notice thereof as required by this section or fail or refuse to surrender such animal to the General Manager or the General Manager’s duly authorized representative upon demand therefor.
(d) If the animal is a stray dog that is not wearing a license tag or a stray cat, and the person finding the animal wishes to provide the animal with home care, the person shall comply with the following within the first four hours of finding the animal: (Added by Ord. No. 186,287, Eff. 10/8/19.)
1. Notify the nearest City animal shelter that the animal is in their possession and provide a description of the animal, the location where the animal was found, the location where the animal will be maintained, as well as the person’s name, address, and contact information.
2. Note and maintain the animal ID number from the Department to be used in all future communications.
3. Provide two or more photographs (of different poses and at least one head shot) of the animal to the Department suitable for posting on the Department’s website.
4. Transport the animal to a veterinarian or to the nearest animal shelter if the animal requires timely medical care.
(e) Within the first 24 hours of finding the animal, the person finding the stray dog or cat shall comply with the following: (Added by Ord. No. 186,287, Eff. 10/8/19.)
1. Transport the animal to one of the City animal shelters for a microchip scan and veterinary care, or bring the animal to a licensed California veterinarian at the finder’s own expense for a microchip scan and veterinary care.
2. Provide the Department with a record of the microchip scan and the veterinarian’s diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
3. Make and distribute posters with the animal’s photo in a two-block radius of the location where the animal was found and include the finder’s contact information.
4. Complete the Department’s form foster care agreement and submit it to the Department in person, by fax, or electronically. The Department’s form foster care agreement shall include an agreement by the person to accept all legal and financial liability for the animal.
(f) In addition to the requirements in Subsections (d) and (e) above, the person finding the stray dog or cat shall comply with the following: (Added by Ord. No. 186,287, Eff. 10/8/19.)
1. Agree to maintain the animal at the identified location and notify the Department within 12 hours of any change to the location where the animal is kept.
2. Immediately notify the Department if the animal is lost, stolen, or has attacked, bitten, or injured any person or other animal.
3. If the animal is returned to its lawful owner, immediately notify the Department with the name, address, and contact information of the person to whom the animal was released.
4. After 30 days, bring the dog or cat into the nearest City animal shelter and either surrender the animal to the Department or complete the process to adopt the animal, including having the animal vaccinated and sterilized. If the found animal is a dog, adoption also will require the adopter to license the dog. The Department shall waive the adoption fee for any animal adopted pursuant to this section.