(a) (1) Any dog or cat apprehended and impounded must be scanned for the presence of a microchip and examined for other currently acceptable methods of identification, including, but not limited to, identification tags, tattoos, and rabies license tags. The examination for identification shall be done within 24 hours after the intake of each dog or cat. The Animal Control Officer shall make every reasonable attempt to contact the owner, agent, or caretaker as soon as possible.
(2) Any animal that comes into the possession of the Animal Control Officer shall receive an intake exam in order to evaluate the animal’s health and to identify potential infectious diseases. If the owner of any animal in the possession of the Animal Control Officer has not been located or has been located but refuses to reclaim the dog or cat, and if the animal is deemed healthy, it shall be turned over to the Middleburg Heights Animal Shelter within seven days. In accordance with R.C. § 955.16(A)(2) any dog that is currently registered by the county auditor and the attempts to notify the owner, agent, or caretaker have failed, the dog shall be kept, housed, and fed for 14 days for the purpose of redemption. With approval by the Police Chief, an animal may be placed on a medical hold until medically stabilized and deemed healthy by a veterinarian before being turned over to the Middleburg Heights Animal Shelter,
(b) The Middleburg Heights Animal Shelter Manager shall collect such fees for animal adoption as follows:
(1) Canine adoption fee: Adult: one hundred dollars ($100.00); puppy; two hundred dollars ($200.00); seniors: seventy-five dollars ($75.00); previously spayed or neutered: seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
(2) Feline adoption fee: Adult: seventy-five dollars ($75.00); kitten: one hundred dollars ($100.00); previously spayed or neutered: sixty dollars ($60.00).
(3) Veterans and individuals age 60 or older shall receive a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) discount on adoption fees.
(4) Modifications can take place with the recommendation of the Animal Control Officer and approval of the Police Chief.
(c) Such rabies vaccination as is prescribed in Section 618.035 shall also be required.
(d) Any dog or cat adopted from the animal shelter must be spayed or neutered by a veterinarian. If the dog or cat is an adult such operation shall be performed within one month of adoption. If the dog is young, it shall be neutered by a veterinarian by the age of six to nine months for a toy or small breed puppy or by the age of 12 to 18 months for a large or giant breed. A cat shall be neutered or spayed by a veterinarian by the age of five to six months. Any dog or cat not so neutered or spayed within those time periods shall be reclaimed by the Animal Shelter Manager without refund to the adopter, except if a veterinarian should determine that the dog or cat is physically unable to undergo such an operation within the time limitations in which case the dog or cat is to be neutered or spayed as soon as the veterinarian determines it is able. Persons who violate any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(Ord. 2019-16. Passed 3-12-19; Ord. 2024-26. Passed 4-23-24.)