(A) Definition. A dangerous animal is an animal which has:
(1) Without provocation caused bodily injury or disfigurement to any person on public or private property;
(2) Without provocation engaged in any attack on any person under circumstances which would indicate danger to personal safety;
(3) Exhibited unusually aggressive behavior, such as an attack on another animal;
(4) Bitten one (1) or more persons on two (2) or more occasions;
(5) Been found to be potentially dangerous and/or the owner has personal knowledge of the same, and the animal aggressively bites, attacks, or endangers the safety of humans or domestic animals; or
(6) Fresh wounds, scarring, or is observed in a fight, or has other indications which to a reasonable person evidence that the animal has been or will be used, trained or encouraged to fight with another animal; or whose owner has in custody or possession any training apparatus, paraphernalia or drugs used to prepare such animal to be fought with another animal.
(B) Designation as dangerous animal. The Police Chief shall designate any animal as a dangerous animal upon receiving evidence that the animal meets any of the criteria in division (A).
(C) Procedure. The Police Chief, after having determined that an animal is dangerous, may proceed in the following manner:
(1) The owner(s) of the animal shall be notified in writing or in person that the animal has been determined to be dangerous and that the animal is to be seized and destroyed or that the owner must comply with the conditions set forth in § 90.51. This notice shall state the dates, times, places and facts of the incidents which form the basis for the determination, and that the owner(s) have fourteen (14) calendar days to appeal to the City Clerk the determination by requesting a hearing before the Hearing Officer.
(a) If no appeal is filed, the orders issued will stand.
(b) If an owner requests a hearing for determination as to the dangerous nature of the animal, the hearing shall be held before the Hearing Officer not more than three (3) weeks after demand for the hearing. Pending a hearing on the determination, the animal may be seized and kept at an animal shelter unless the owner shows proof that the animal has met the requirement, if any, for rabies vaccinations, and agrees that the animal, if it is a dog, will not be permitted to be outside without being in a proper enclosure or being restrained on a leash and wearing a muzzle.
(c) The records of the city, including those of animal control, and any police reports relating to an attack or bite shall be admissible for consideration by the hearing officer without further foundation.
(d) After considering all evidence pertaining to the temperament of the animal, the Hearing Officer shall make such order as he/she deems proper. The Hearing Officer may order that the Police Chief take the animal into custody for destruction, if such animal is not currently in custody. If the animal is ordered into custody for destruction, the owner shall immediately make the animal available to the Police Chief and failure to do so shall be a misdemeanor.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Police Chief from ordering the immediate seizure and quarantine of a rabies-suspected animal.
(3) Any person who fails or refuses to release an animal to a police officer upon demand, after it has been found by the Police Chief to be dangerous and ordered into custody for destruction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(4) The Police Chief or the animal owner may apply to the district court of the county for subpoenas for hearings under division (C)(1) above.
(D) Authority to order destruction. The Hearing Officer, upon finding that an animal is dangerous hereunder, is authorized to order, as part of the disposition of the case, that the animal be destroyed based on a written order containing one (1) or more of the following findings of fact:
(1) The animal is dangerous as demonstrated by a vicious attack, an unprovoked attack, an attack without warning or multiple attacks; or
(2) The owner of the animal has demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to control the animal in order to prevent injury to persons or other animals.
(E) Stopping an attack. If any police officer is witness to an attack by an animal upon a person or another animal, the officer may take whatever means the officer deems appropriate to bring the attack to an end and prevent further injury to the victim.