(A) Any dog found to be without license or to be a nuisance, either or both, shall be taken up by the dog officer and impounded in the shelter designated as the town dog pound, and there confined in a humane manner for a period of not less than five days, unless previously claimed by the owner as hereinafter provided, and may thereafter be disposed of in a humane manner if not claimed by its owner. Whenever, by reason of the diseased or injured condition of a dog, the dog officer may determine that it is in the best interests of the dog or the public that the dog be destroyed, the dog officer may destroy such dog prior to the expiration of such five-day period.
(1) The five day impoundment period shall not include any day or part thereof that the public pound is not open for a specified period of time, not to be less than one-half the normal hours of business, for the purposes of reclaiming any such dog by its rightful owner.
(2) All periods of time shall be listed in a prominent location at the entrance to all public pounds.
(B) The dog officer may transfer title of any dog held at the dog pound to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the Robert Potter League for Animals after the legal detention period has expired and such dog has not been claimed by its owner.
(C) When dogs are found to be unlicensed, and their ownership is known to the dog officer, such dogs need not be impounded, but such officer may cite the owners of such dogs to appear in court to answer to charges of violation of this subchapter.
(D) Immediately upon impounding any dog, the dog officer shall make every reasonable effort to ascertain the owner of such dog so impounded, and inform such owner of the conditions whereby he may regain custody of such dog.
(R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-13-15) ('73 Code, § 4-9) (Ord. passed 8-5-68)
Statutory reference:
Authority to appoint agent of Robert Potter League, see R.I. Gen. Laws, § 4-13-37