(A) Dog or cat bites.
(1) Any bite or wound exposing an individual to the possibility of rabies or other zoonotic disease (referred to in this division as an “incident”) shall be immediately reported to the police by the victim, and by the owner, keeper or harborer of the dog or cat if the incident is known to him or her. Any such dog or cat bite which requires medical treatment shall be reported within 24 hours to the Police Department by the treating physician or hospital caring for the patient.
(2) It shall be the duty of every owner or keeper of any dog or cat, upon receiving notice or having knowledge of the involvement of his or her pet in a human exposure to the possibility of rabies or other zoonotic disease by biting, to immediately place the animal in a duly licensed veterinary medical facility, the address of which must be furnished to the city’s animal shelter, where the animal shall be isolated and confined for observation for 10 consecutive days from and including the date of the incident. It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or person harboring the animal involved in the incident to release it from his or her custody or to hide or conceal the animal or to take or allow the animal to be taken beyond the limits of the city, unless as authorized by the Police Department or court, until the period of confinement and observation required in this division is completed. The owner or keeper of the animal involved in an incident shall be liable for the costs of confinement and observation. The death of the dog or cat or any suspicious change in the health or behavior of any such dog or cat undergoing observation shall be reported as soon as possible by the observing authority to the Police Department or its designate. The Police Department or its designate is hereby authorized to authorize confinement other than described in this division as it finds medically appropriate, providing the animal will be controlled and observed in accordance with the owner’s signed agreement, but only if the dog or cat has been vaccinated for prevention of rabies and is duly licensed as provided by this chapter. Unless determined otherwise by the Police Department, an exception to the confinement required by this division may be granted in the following case: where a female dog is nursing unweaned puppies or a female cat is nursing unweaned kittens.
(B) Bites by animals other than dogs and cats. Any bite which would, by other than a dog or cat, expose an individual to the possibility of rabies or other zoonotic disease (referred to in this division as an “incident”) shall be immediately reported to the police by the victim, and by the owner, keeper or harborer of the animal if the incident is known to him or her. Any animal bite which requires medical treatment shall be reported within 24 hours to the Police Department by the treating physician or hospital caring for the patient. It shall be unlawful for the owner, keeper or person harboring the animal involved in the incident to release it from his or her custody or to hide or conceal the animal or to take or allow the animal to be taken beyond the limits of the city unless so authorized by the Chief of Police until an observation period stipulated by the Chief of Police for the particular species of animal is over or the period is ruled unnecessary by the Chief of Police. It shall be the duty of each owner or keeper, upon receiving notice of an incident, to immediately place the animal involved in a duly licensed veterinary medical facility, the address of which must be furnished to the Police Department at once, or in the city’s animal shelter, where the animal shall be isolated and confined for observation. The owner or keeper of an animal involved in a biting incident shall be liable for the cost of confinement and observation. The death of any such animal or any suspicious change in the health or behavior of any such animal undergoing observation shall be reported immediately by the observing authority to the Chief of Police or his or her designated representative. If a proper period of observation is undetermined or undeterminable for the species of animal involved in an incident, the city is hereby empowered to order whatever laboratory examination of the animal or animal’s tissues is required by prudent medical practice for the protection of the victim, and no liability for damages shall arise from any injury to or death of the animal occasioned by the laboratory examination. When an animal involved in an incident is outside the city, the city shall forward information concerning the incident to the appropriate authority of the jurisdiction of residence of the owner, keeper or harborer or the appropriate state health department for coordinated disease prevention.
(C) Authority to kill animals that cannot be safely captured; delivery of remains to Police Department. If any dangerous, fierce or vicious dog, cat or other animal believed involved in an incident (as the term “incident” is used in divisions (A) and (B) of this section) cannot be safely captured or prevented from escaping by usual means, the animal may be slain by an officer. In all cases where the animal may have exposed a person to rabies and is slain before the completion of the observation period stipulated for the species by the city, it shall be the duty of the person slaying the animal to forthwith deliver, or cause to be delivered, all the remains of the animal, including the undamaged head, to the Police Department. A departure from this procedure must be requested of an authorized person by the city.
(D) Impoundment and observation of animals in transit through city. For the purpose of disease or injury control, the city is hereby empowered to impound and observe animals in transit through the city at the request of any official animal control agency, health officer or law enforcement agency of another jurisdiction.
(E) Declaration of disease control emergency. If Chief of Police determines that a rabies or other zoonotic disease control emergency exists, he or she shall so declare, stating the boundaries of the affected area, and he or she is hereby empowered to issue emergency regulations and take all necessary steps within the provisions of this chapter and state law to abate the threat. The emergency steps and regulations shall be in effect only during the period of the declared emergency.
(F) Removal of animal droppings. The owner or keeper of every animal, when the animal is off the property controlled by the owner or keeper, shall be responsible for the removal of any fecal material before taking an animal from the immediate area where the excretion occurred. Failure to remove the fecal material shall result in a violation of this division. Any person who violates this division shall be punished as provided for in § 90.99(A)(1).
(G) Disposal of dead animals.
(1) The Police Department or its authorized agent shall be responsible for the removal of all dead animals found within the city, except as otherwise provided in this section. As used in this section, the term
DEAD ANIMAL shall mean one not killed for food or no longer fit for food. The actual cost of the removal shall be paid by the owner.
(2) All large dead animals shall be removed and legally disposed of by the owner or proprietor of the premises within 12 hours after the death of the animal. If not so removed, the animal shall be removed at actual cost to the property owner or proprietor.
(3) On occupied property, the owner or the tenant thereof shall provide easy access to the subject animal for purposes of its removal. No person owning or having in his or her possession the carcass of any animal not to be used for food shall permit the carcass to remain in or upon any street, sidewalk, park, public ground, private lot or other place without at once giving notice to the Chief of Police.
(4) Burial of animals shall only be permitted at pet cemeteries and licensed landfills.
(Prior Code, § 8-19) Penalty, see § 90.99