(a) Generally. The Executive Director, an animal control officer, or the Board may enforce an animal control law or protect the health or safety of a person, an animal, or the public by impounding (or for the Board, ordering the Executive Director to impound) an animal at an animal shelter or other facility approved by the Executive Director.
(b) Notice of impoundment. The Executive Director promptly must make a reasonable effort to locate and notify the owner of an impounded animal. The notice must inform the owner of applicable requirements of this Chapter, including the requirement in subsection (c) to pay in advance for the animal’s care and the opportunity to request a waiver of the prepayment requirement under subsection (c)(7). The Executive Director may notify the owner by first class mail to the owner’s last known address, or, if the Executive Director cannot locate the owner, by publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the County.
(c) Prepayment for care.
(1) The animal’s owner must prepay any boarding costs before and during any appeal to the Board, unless waived or modified as provided in this Chapter. Within 5 days after receiving notice that an animal was impounded under any provision of this Chapter, the animal’s owner must pay to the County the estimated cost of caring for the animal for the 30-day period beginning on the date the animal was impounded. The Executive Director must estimate the cost, which must include the cost of food, veterinary care, and other necessities that a responsible owner would provide for the animal and may include other costs, such as pro rata staffing and administrative expenses, allowed by regulation. The owner must pay in cash or by another method acceptable to the Division.
(2) If the animal remains impounded at the end of a 30-day period, the owner must, within 3 days after that 30-day period ends:
(A) pay any difference between the estimated and actual cost of care; and
(B) prepay the estimated cost of 30 additional days of care.
(3) The Executive Director may:
(A) revise the estimated cost of care for each 30-day period to improve the accuracy of the estimate; and
(B) apply any previous payment for that animal that exceeds the actual cost of care to the next 30-day period.
(4) (A) The County must refund to the owner, within 10 business days after:
(i) the end of the impoundment, any payment from the owner that exceeds the actual cost of care, including any payment for a day that the County did not care for the animal; or
(ii) the final judgment of a court holding that the County seized and impounded the animal illegally, all payments from the owner.
(B) If the actual cost of care exceeds the total estimated payments, the owner must pay the difference under Section 5-304(b) and (c).
(5) If the owner does not comply with this Section at any time, the animal must be treated as abandoned and becomes the property of the County.
(6) The prepayment requirement in this Section does not apply to an animal impounded as a stray in violation of Section 5-203(a)(1) unless the animal also is impounded for any other violation of this Chapter.
(7) The Executive Director may waive or modify the prepayment required under this subsection (such as by requiring weekly prepayments) if the owner provides evidence that prepayment for 30 days of care would be a serious financial hardship to the owner.
(d) Multiple impoundments.
(1) If an unaltered dog or cat is impounded 2 or more times, the owner must have the animal altered at the owner’s expense within 30 days after the animal is released from impoundment or surrender the animal to the Executive Director unless:
(A) the owner appeals to the Board within 10 days after the date of the second violation; and
(B) the Board after a hearing waives this requirement or orders other action.
(2) The Executive Director must not allow an owner to redeem an animal impounded less than 12 months after the animal was released from a previous impoundment, unless the owner has successfully appealed any citation arising out of the prior impoundment, until the Executive Director has issued:
(A) a citation for the current violation; and
(B) an order designed to prevent future violations. (1999 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 18, §1.)
Editor’s note—Section 5-303 is quoted in Coroneos v. Montgomery County, 161 Md. App. 411, 869 A.2d 410 (2005).