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The director of animal services shall keep an accurate record of all estrays received by him/her, their age, color, sex, marks, and brands, the time and place of taking and the expense of keeping and selling the same, all animals claimed and taken away, all animals sold and to whom sold and the amount paid, all monies paid to owners after sale, all monies paid into the city treasury, and all other matters necessary to a compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The mayor shall provide the director with a suitable book, in which shall be entered the records required by law to be kept by the director. Such records shall be open to the inspection of the public at all reasonable hours, and shall be deposited by the director with his/her successor in office. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
If any cattle, horses, asses, mules, sheep, goats or swine shall trespass or do damage upon the premises of any person, the party aggrieved, whether such be the owner or occupant of such premises, may recover damages by an action at law against the owner of the trespassing animals, or by distraining and impounding said animals in the manner provided herein. (Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
The owner or occupant of any property may distrain any or all of said animals trespassing or doing damage thereon. He/she shall, within twenty four (24) hours thereafter, deliver said animals to the director of animal services, together with a certificate of the appraisement of the damage done by such animals. Such appraisement must be made by a qualified disinterested person of adult age. It must state the amount of the damage, the time when committed, the name of the person damaged, the name of the owner of the animals, if known, and if not known, it must state that fact, together with a description of the animals, including all visible marks and brands. If the animals appear to be owned by different parties, a separate appraisement and a separate certificate thereof shall be made of the damage done by the lot or group of animals which appear to belong to each of the different owners. In such cases, the owners shall be notified separately, and each lot or group of animals shall be advertised and sold separately in the same manner as though the damage had been done by different animals at different times. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
The person distraining the animals must, if the owner of the same be known to such person and if the owner resides within ten (10) miles of the place of the trespass, immediately deliver to such owner, or leave at his/her place of residence if he/she cannot be found, a copy of such certificate of appraisement; but if the owner does not live within ten (10) miles of the place of trespass, the party distraining the animals may, at his/her option, deliver a copy of such certificate to the owner in person, or deposit the same in the nearest post office in a registered letter addressed to said owner. He/she shall be entitled to charge fifteen cents ($0.15) a mile one way for the first ten (10) miles necessarily traveled in delivering such certificate, and ten cents ($0.10) for each additional mile, to be taxed as costs against the animals. (Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
If the party distraining any animals shall fail to deliver them or the certificate of appraisement to the director of animal services within twenty four (24) hours, or shall fail to deliver to the owners of the animals, if known, a copy of the certificate of appraisement within forty eight (48) hours after he/she receives the same, or to deposit the same in the post office as herein provided, said party shall not be entitled to recover damages under the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
Whenever any animals are delivered to the director of animal services, and the certificate of appraisement is filed with him/her as herein provided and such certificate states that the owner is unknown, the director of animal services shall immediately examine all brand books or brand sheets in his/her possession, and if the owner be ascertained thereby, or if the owner be already known to the director of animal services, the director shall, if the owner lives within ten (10) miles, immediately deliver a copy of such certificate of appraisement to such owner or leave the same at the owner's residence if he/she cannot be found; if the owner lives more than ten (10) miles away, the director of animal services may, at his/her option, deliver such copy personally to the owner or deposit the same in the nearest post office in a registered letter addressed to such owner. The director shall, however, serve a copy in one of the ways provided herein; provided, that whenever personal service of a copy of any paper is required by this chapter, service by agent shall be deemed sufficient. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
As soon as such animals are delivered to the director of animal services, the director shall immediately proceed to advertise the same as hereinafter provided, except when the owner is known and has been notified, in which case he/she shall hold said animals forty eight (48) hours before advertising the same. The director shall advertise in a newspaper published in the county, having general circulation in the county, by publishing a notice in at least one issue of said paper, and by posting notices in three (3) of the most public places in the city, one of which shall be at or near the post office, and shall deliver a copy of the same to the county clerk, or send the same by officer or by registered mail. The clerk shall preserve such notice and post a copy thereof. The notice herein provided for shall state the time when the damage was done and the amount thereof, the name of the party damaged, a description of the animals, including all visible marks and brands, and the day, hour, and place at which such animals will be sold, which shall be not less than ten (10) or more than twenty (20) days from the time of posting such notice; said notices may be substantially in the following form:
SALE OF ANIMALS FOR DAMAGES
State of Utah, County of Salt Lake,
In the City of Salt Lake.
I have in my possession the following described animals, which, if not claimed and taken away, will be sold at public auction to the highest cash bidder at the animal shelter in Salt Lake City, on the day of , 19 .
Animal Services Director
(Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
The owner of any trespassing animals taken up under the provisions of this chapter may, at any time before the sale thereof, claim and take such animals away upon paying the amount of damages set forth in the certificate of appraisement and the accrued costs, and if such animals are included in a lot or group of animals belonging to other parties, against which the damages and costs are assessed as a whole, he/she shall pay his/her proportion of the total amount of damages and costs assessed against such animals, according to the number of animals he/she owns when compared with the number of the entire lot or group. If said owner deems the appraisal too high, he/she may choose another appraiser having the qualifications herein provided, who with the first shall make a new appraisal, and if they cannot agree, they shall choose a third and the three (3) shall proceed to make another appraisal, and the decision of the majority shall be final. (Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
If such animals are not claimed and taken away by the owner, the director of animal services shall, at the time and place set forth in the notice of sale, proceed to sell such animals, one at a time, to the highest cash bidder. If the owner of any lot of animals to be sold is known, the director of animal services shall sell only enough of said animals to pay the damages and costs, and the remainder may be turned over to the owner at any time thereafter; but if the owner be not known, the director of animal services shall proceed to sell all of said animals so advertised for sale. The director shall execute and deliver a bill of sale therefor, and file a copy with the county clerk as hereinbefore provided. Said copies shall be preserved for a period of two (2) years and shall be open for inspection at all reasonable hours, free of charge. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
The director of animal services shall keep an accurate record of all trespassing animals received by him/her, which shall contain all the items required by this title, together with the names of the injured party and the owner of the animals, the amount of the damages claimed, and all other matters necessary to a complete account of the transaction. Such record shall be open for inspection at all reasonable hours without charge. (Ord. 69-99 § 9, 1999: Ord. 24-89 § 1, 1989)
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