(A) General regulation. It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any dog to permit the same to run at large within the city at any time. Any dog found without the tag provided in § 90.03, and any dog found running at large, shall be impounded.
(B) Impoundment procedure.
(1) The Chief of Police shall take up and impound every dog found running at large in said city. All dogs impounded shall be kept in the custody of the Chief of Police for a period of not less than five days unless sooner redeemed by their owners. They shall be fed, watered, and shielded from the elements in a manner acceptable to good veterinary practice. At the end of five days, if an unlicensed dog has not been claimed, the Chief of Police is at liberty to dispose of the dog in any of the following ways:
(a) The destruction of an animal accomplished by a method approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Panel on Euthanasia (JAVMA 173; 59-72, 1978); or more recent editions, but animals killed during the feeding of pet carnivores shall be considered humanely killed;
(b) Releasing the dog to any person expressing a desire for any given dog after the payment of the impoundment fee of $5 per day, and the procurement of the license required by this chapter before releasing; or
(c) Releasing the dog to an accredited public school within the state which has a recognized research program and whose methods of animal care and use are approved by the city’s Board of Aldermen and upon payment of the impoundment fee of $5 per day.
(2) If a licensed dog is impounded, the Chief of Police shall notify the owner by regular U.S. mail of the impoundment and that if such dog is not redeemed within five days of the date of the notice, by payment of impoundment fee, such dog will be disposed of in one of the same ways an unlicensed dog may be disposed of.
(Prior Code, § 205.030) (Ord. 240, passed 3-1-1988) Penalty, see § 90.99