(a) The Department shall hold any stray animal, including any horse, mule, burro, cattle, goat, sheep and other live stock, except dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, poultry, or any other miscellaneous stray animals, impounded under the provisions of this article for a period of three (3) days during which time the owner of such animal, if known, shall be notified, after which time said animal may be sold by an officer of the Department as follows: Written or printed notice of sale at public auction, stating the time and place of sale and containing a description of the animal to be sold, must be posted for five (5) days on the bulletin boards of three (3) public buildings, namely: One (1) at the Public Pound; one (1) at the City Hall, and one (1) at the Central Police Station;
(b) In the case of dogs, the Department of Animal Services shall hold such animal for a period of one (1) day after the impounding of said animal, during which time the owner of said animal, if known, shall be notified, after which time said animal may be sold by an officer of the Department in the same manner as provided in this section for the sale of other animals except that notice of sale need be posted only two (2) days in the places named in this section. The purchaser of such dog shall procure the required license for the current year.
(c) Cats, rabbits, birds, poultry, and other animals not hereinabove mentioned shall be disposed of as in the case of dogs except that no license fee shall be charged.
(d) In addition to the posting of any notice of impounding or of the sale of any dog or other animal as hereinbefore provided, said General Manager is hereby authorized, whenever the same shall, in the judgment of the General Manager, be expedient or proper, to publish a notice in any newspaper of general circulation published in this City containing the same information as the notice of sale as above provided.
(e) If any animal is not redeemed or sold, the General Manager of the Department may continue to hold for subsequent sale said animal in accordance with the terms as hereinbefore set forth, or order the destruction of such animal. Said General Manager or other duly authorized representative of the Department shall execute a bill of sale to the purchaser of any animal sold and thereupon the title to such animal shall be vested in such purchaser.
(f) When any animal is sold under the provisions of this Article, from the proceeds of such sale shall be deducted the regular pound fee, and, in the case of livestock, the cost of care and feed of such animal, and in the case of dogs, the license for the current year. Any sum of money which remains over and above said fees may be claimed by the owner of said animal so sold, upon satisfactory proof of ownership being made to the Department within sixty (60) days from the date of sale, provided, however, that the owner did not voluntarily surrender said animal to the Department. (Amended by Ord. No. 150,337, Eff. 1/1/78.)
(g) Whenever any dog has been impounded as in this section provided, and the owner thereof has not redeemed the same within the time for such redemption prescribed by this article, and after notice has been posted on the bulletin boards of three public buildings as in this ordinance prescribed of the time and place of the sale of said dog, and when the owner of said dog has not appeared at said sale as so noticed, the Department of Animal Services without offering said dog for sale at public auction, is hereby authorized, upon the request of any of the armed forces of the United States to deliver the dog to said armed forces of the United States without any cost, charge, fee or expense whatsoever, and to execute a bill of sale for said dog to said armed force or forces.
(h) (None)
(i) Any purchaser of a dog or cat may within ten (10) days after such purchase exchange such dog or cat if said animal has been examined by a veterinarian or by an authorized departmental representative and determined to be physically or otherwise unsuitable for placement. If the charges for the substituted dog or cat are greater than the amount paid for the original, the purchaser shall pay the difference. No refund shall be made if the price of the substituted dog or cat is less than the amount paid for the original. An exchange must be consummated within 31 calendar days from the original purchase date and no part of the purchase price shall be refunded even if a purchaser is unable to make satisfactory exchange within the prescribed period. (Added by Ord. No. 137,182, Eff. 10/7/68.)
(j) Any person adopting an impounded dog of any age that has not been spayed or neutered due to a medical condition as determined by the Department shall in addition to and consistent with any other charges imposed by this Article, pay a sterilization deposit and a license tax and fee equal to that for a spayed or neutered dog, and enter into an agreement with the Department to spay or neuter the dog as soon as medically feasible and provide periodic updates and proof of spay/neuter to the Department as required by the agreement. The license shall not be valid until such satisfactory proof of spay or neuter is received by the Department. (Added by Ord. No. 181,882, Eff. 10/30/11.)
(k) (None)
(l) Release by Department. (Added by Ord. No. 106,995, Eff. 3/24/56.)
1. Vaccinated Dog. An impounded dog that has been vaccinated against rabies or exempted therefrom by an exemption certificate as provided in this article may be released to the owner or other person desiring to possess the dog upon the payment of the fees and license tax required by this article.
2. Unvaccinated Dog – Purchaser. Any person desiring to purchase an impounded unvaccinated dog, not previously owned by said person, must pay the fees and license tax required by this article and furnish a signed statement in compliance with Sec. 53.52 hereof or comply with the conditions of subdivision 3 hereof.
3. Conditional Release of Unvaccinated Dog to Owner. Every person receiving a dog from the Department pursuant to this subdivision shall comply with all of the conditions prescribed herein. An impounded dog that has not been vaccinated against rabies or exempted therefrom by an exemption certificate as provided in this article may be released by the Department to the owner of the dog on condition that such owner:
(i) Pay the fees and license tax required by this article; and
(ii) Furnish to the Department at the time of release the owner’s signed statement that the owner will have the dog vaccinated within 10 days;
(iii) Have the dog vaccinated for rabies within 10 days; and
(iv) Exhibit a certificate of vaccination to the Department within 10 days at which time the license will be issued.
(m) No person shall make a false or misleading statement or representation regarding the ownership or right to custody or control of an animal for which a permit or license is required, or regarding the ownership of an animal redeemed from, turned over to, impounded by or coming under the jurisdiction of the Department pursuant to this article.
(n) The General Manager or the General Manager’s authorized representative may immunize any impounded dog or cat against common diseases. (Amended by Ord. No. 149,942, Eff. 8/19/77.)
(o) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Board of Animal Services Commissioners, subject to the approval of the City Council, shall establish a calendar of specific adoption events and certain time periods within a fiscal or calendar year during which the General Manager may reduce the fees listed in Section 53.12(a) by up to 50%, and may reduce or waive the fees for an electronic animal identification device (microchip) established pursuant to Section 53.15.5, in order to encourage and promote pet adoptions. (Amended by Ord. No. 180,697, Eff. 6/26/09.)
(p) (Amended by Ord. No. 180,697, Eff. 6/26/09.) Subject to the approval of the Board of Animal Services, the General Manager may waive all or any portion of the fees listed in Section 53.12(a) and all or any portion of the electronic animal identification device (microchip) fees established pursuant to Section 53.15.5 upon the release of any animal which has been held by the Department for the legal holding period plus at least one additional day, to a non-profit humane or rescue organization that meets the eligibility criteria of a program established by the Board of Animal Services Commissioners designed to increase adoptions by partnering with non-profit humane or rescue organizations, when the organization enters into an agreement with the Department to comply with the program requirements. The designation of an animal as releasable shall be in accordance with the Department’s policies concerning the adoption of such animals. The Board shall adopt guidelines for fee waivers by the Department, taking into account an animal’s adoptability and the availability of shelter space. A fee waiver will be made only upon the condition that any animal so released may not be sold by the receiving organization but may be adopted out to a member of the public for an adoption fee which does not exceed the organization’s aggregate cost recovery. The organizations receiving fee waivers may be audited annually by the City.
For the purposes of this section, rescue and humane organizations are defined as California non-profit corporations that are exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), participate in early age spay/neuter of animals, comply with all State and local laws regarding the humane care and treatment of animals, and in addition, whose mission is in whole or in part the rescue and placement of companion animals including but not limited to dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, birds, equine animals, farm animals or reptiles, and/or the trapping, neutering and returning of feral cats.
(q) The General Manager may waive all or any portion of the fees, including license taxes and fees, upon the release of any animal which has been held by the Department for the legal holding period to another municipal or county animal control agency, a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), or to a local animal control agency or entity responsible for enforcing animal-related laws for one or more municipalities or counties. The designation of an animal as releasable shall be in accordance with the Department’s policies concerning the adoption of such animals. Societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals are California non-profit corporations that perform humane services and are incorporated under the provisions of California Corporations Code Section 10400 and the Non-profit Public Benefit Corporation Law in Part 2 of the California Corporations Code, beginning at Section 5110. (Added by Ord. No. 180,697, Eff. 6/26/09.)