(A) If an owner/harborer is found to be in violation of any ordinances and at the discretion of the animal control officer, they will first receive a verbal warning with a deadline to be in compliance. If the owner/harborer does not come within compliance by the deadline, a citation will be issued each day until the owner/harborer is within compliance or the animal(s) will be impounded if found to be necessary.
(B) If the animal is found to be in a life-threatening situation and an owner/harborer cannot be contacted in a timely fashion, the animal shall be taken by an agent of the Animal Control Department and/or Police Department and impounded at the animal shelter for a period of time no more than three days.
(C) Habitual ordinance violations will result in immediate impoundment of animal. Owner/harborer will be subject to the redemption and release requirements.
(D) Section 91.12 Running at Large Impoundment will be considered and applied separately.
(E) In the event such animal is not claimed, thereafter will be sold, transferred to another shelter/rescue or euthanized by injection.
(F) In the event an animal is found to be unreasonably suffering from injury or illness and an owner is unable to be located/contacted in a timely fashion or willing to provide necessary care, the animal will be euthanized by injection prior to the applicable hold period end date.
(1) The Director or the assigned staff member to act on the Director's behalf when not reachable will make the ultimate decision after verifying the condition of the animal and all possible options to identify an owner or convince the owner to provide care have been exhausted.
(2) The animal will be thoroughly documented, including photos from multiple angles, and held for a minimum of five days before disposal.
(3) The owner will be responsible for the applicable fees listed under § 91.04 Owner Requested Euthanasia in addition to the redemption fees listed in this section.
(G) The owner/harborer will be subject to the following redemption and release requirements:
(1) First Offense $50.00;
(2) Second Offense $100.00;
(3) Third Offense $150.00;
(4) Fourth Offense: The animal becomes property of the animal shelter;
(5) If the animal is not microchipped, they will be required to be for an additional fee of $10.00;
(6) If the animal requires veterinary care or other additional costs, the owner will be required to pay those costs incurred by the shelter;
(7) Owners are required to produce an unexpired rabies certificate with a veterinarian signature if over the age of four months and veterinarian record of current disease prevention vaccination such as DA2PP, DHLP, or FVRCP within seven days of redemption;
(8) Redemption fees renew after 12 consecutive months; and
(9) If the owner is identified, but does not redeem or properly surrender the animal, the agent of the Animal Control Department can issue a citation in the maximum appropriate amount for the applicable redemption offense and citation offense and any additional cost incurred by the shelter deemed necessary during impoundment (i.e. first redemption of $50.00 plus first citation offense of $25.00 plus flea treatment of $5.00)
(Ord. 2019-03, passed 4-2-2019; Am. Ord. 2020- 29, passed 12-15-2020; Am. Ord. 2022-10, passed 6-7-2022; Am. Ord. 2022-17, passed 7- 19-2022; Am. Ord. 2023-06, passed 7-3-2023)