SEC. 41.23. EXCEPTIONS.

   (a)   The provisions of Sections 41.15 to 41.22, inclusive, of this Article shall not apply to any of the following:

      (1)   Dogs or cats owned or in the custody of or under the control of persons who are nonresidents of the City and County, or temporarily sojourning therein for a period not exceeding 30 days;

      (2)   Dogs or cats brought to said City and County exclusively for the purpose of entering the same in any dog or cat show or exhibition, and which are actually entered in and kept at such show or exhibition;

      (3)   Dogs or cats owned by nonprofit zoological gardens open to the public;

      (4)   Dogs or cats owned by duly incorporated and qualified organizations and societies for the humane treatment and prevention of cruelty to animals;

      (5)   Dogs or cats owned by pet shops, circuses, animal exhibits, and other enterprises maintaining animals which have been granted business licenses and kennel licenses by the City and County;

      (6)   Dogs or cats used for teaching or diagnostic purposes or research in conformity with State or Federal laws.

   (b)   No license fee shall be levied for any dog license issued for any of the following:

      (1)   A professionally trained and certified guide dog owned by or in the custody of a blind or partially blind person;

      (2)   A signal dog owned by or in the custody of a deaf person or person whose hearing is impaired. A "signal dog" shall mean any dog trained to alert a deaf person, or a person whose hearing is impaired, to intruders or sounds, as defined in Section 54.1 of the California Civil Code;

      (3)   A service dog owned by or in the custody of a physically handicapped person. A "service dog" shall mean any dog individually trained to the physically disabled participant's requirements including, but not limited to, minimal protection work, rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items, as defined in Section 54.1 of the California Civil Code.

(Added by Ord. 280-92, App. 8/31/92)

SEC. 41.24. ENFORCEMENT.

   It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer and every police officer while on duty to enforce the provisions of Sections 41.15 to 41.22, inclusive, of this Article requiring owners or guardians of dogs to obtain a license for same.

(Added by Ord. 280-92, App. 8/31/92; amended by Ord. 5-03, File No. 021645, App. 1/24/2003)

SEC. 41.25. PENALTIES; ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS.

   (a)   A violation of the provisions of Section 41.21 of this Article shall be a misdemeanor, and punishable by a fine of not more than $500.

   (b)   A violation of the provisions of Section 41.15 or 41.19 of this Article shall be an infraction and punishable by a fine of $100.

   (c)   Administrative Citation. Violations of Sections 41.15, 41.19, and 41.21 of this Article may be punishable by administrative citation. Except as to the amounts of the citation penalties, Chapter 100 of the San Francisco Administrative Code is incorporated herein by reference. The City employees identified in Section 41.24 may issue administrative citations. The fine for violation of Sections 41.15 and 41.19 of this Article shall be $75. In addition, for violation of Section 41.15 and 41.19, the Animal Control Office shall assess a late charge under Section 41.17. The fine for violation of Section 41.21 of this Article shall be $100.

(Added by Ord. 280-92, App. 8/31/92; amended by Ord. 320-98, App. 10/23/98; Ord. 266-05, File No. 051605, App. 11/22/2005; Ord. 164-10, File No. 100712, App. 7/7/2010)

SEC. 41.26. ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT OF FEES.

   Beginning with fiscal year 2010-2011, fees set in Sections 41.9, 41.10, 41.15, 41.16, 41.17, and 41.22 may be adjusted each year, without further action by the Board of Supervisors, to reflect changes in the relevant Consumer Price Index, as determined by the Controller.

   No later than April 15th of each year, the Department of Animal Care and Control shall submit its current fee schedule to the Controller, who shall apply the price index adjustment to produce a new fee schedule for the following year.

   No later than May 15th of each year, the Controller shall file a report with the Board of Supervisors reporting the new fee schedule and certifying that: (a) the fees produce sufficient revenue to support the costs of providing the services for which each fee is assessed, and (b) the fees do not produce revenue which is significantly more than the costs of providing the services for which each fee is assessed.

(Added by Ord. 153-02, File No. 021077, App. 7/12/2002; Ord. 164-10, File No. 100712, App. 7/7/2010)

SEC. 42. DEFINITIONS.

   As used in Sections 42 through 42.5, inclusive, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context shall indicate another or different meaning or intent:

   (a)   "Vicious and dangerous dog" means:

      (1)   Any dog that when unprovoked inflicts bites or attacks a human being or domestic animal either on public or private property, or in a vicious or terrorizing manner, approaches any person in apparent attitude of attack upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds or places; or

      (2)   Any dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals; or

      (3)   Any dog which engages in, or is found to have been trained to engage in, exhibitions of dog fighting; or

      (4)   Any dog at large found to attack, menace, chase, display threatening or aggressive behavior or otherwise threaten or endanger the safety of any domestic animal or person.

   (b)   "Vicious and dangerous dog" does not mean:

      (1)   Any dog that attacks or inflicts bites upon a trespasser of a fully enclosed building; or

      (2)   Any dog used in the military or police if the bites or attack occurred while the dog was performing in that capacity.

   (c)   "Enclosure" means a fence or structure of at least six feet in height, forming or causing an enclosure suitable to prevent the entry of young children, and suitable to humanely confine a dog with adequate exercise area, and posted with an appropriate warning sign, in conjunction with other measures which may be taken by the owner or keeper.

   (d)   "Animal Control" means any person designated under the Administrative Code as the City Pound Keeper or Animal Control Officer.

   (e)   "Impounded" means taken into the custody of the City pound.

   (f)   "Person" means a natural person or any legal entity, including but not limited to, a corporation, firm, partnership or trust.

   (g)   "Hearing officer" means any designated representative of the Department of Public Health or the Police Department who conducts a hearing pursuant to Section 42.4.

(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87)

SEC. 42.1. FIGHT TRAINING PROHIBITED.

   It shall be unlawful to fight-train, keep, harbor, transport through the limits of the City and County of San Francisco, own, or in any way possess a dog for the purpose of dog-fight exhibitions. Scars and wounds are rebuttable evidence of participation in dog-fight exhibitions or training. "Fight training" is defined to include but not be limited to:

   (a)   The use or possession of treadmills unless under the direction of a veterinarian;

   (b)   Actions designed to torment, badger or bait any dog for purpose of encouraging said dog for fight exhibitions;

   (c)   The use of weights on the dog unless under the direction of a veterinarian;

   (d)   The use of other animals for blood sport training;

   (e)   Any other activity the primary purpose of which is the training of dogs for aggressive or vicious behavior or dog-fight exhibitions.

(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87)

SEC. 42.2. REGISTRATION.

   Any dog found to be vicious and dangerous either as a result of (1) the actions of the dog constituting vicious and dangerous behavior occurring in the presence of an animal control officer, or representative of the Department of Public Health or Police Department; and upon finding after hearing under Section 42.3; (2) a signed complaint or a verbal complaint with corroborating evidence by an animal control officer or representative of the Department of Public Health or Police Department; and (3) upon a finding after hearing under Section 42.3, shall be registered with the Department of Animal Care and Control.

   All such dogs shall be registered within 10 days of the effective date of the finding. The Department of Animal Care and Control shall establish a registration fee of $250.

   Furthermore, the keeping of a registered dog shall be subject to the following conditions:

   (a)   Permanently Affixed Identification Number. The owner, guardian, or keeper shall have the licensing number assigned to such dog, or such other identification number as the City shall determine, permanently affixed to the dog by a licensed veterinarian or other Department authorized agency/individual on the dog's upper inner lip, inner thigh or elsewhere as directed by the Department of Animal Care and Control. For the purposes of this section "permanently affixed" shall be defined as any permanent numbering of a dog by means of indelible or permanent ink or by microchip with the number designated by the Department of Animal Care and Control, or any other permanent method of affixing the identification number acceptable to the Department of Animal Care and Control.

   (b)   Display of Sign. The owner, guardian or keeper shall display a sign on his or her premises warning that there is a vicious and dangerous dog on the premises. Said sign shall be visible and capable of being read from the fronting street or public highway.

   (c)   Confinement Indoors. No registered dog may be kept on a porch, patio or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit such building on its own volition except to a secured enclosure. In addition, no such dog may be kept in a house or structure when the windows are open or when screen windows or screen doors are the only obstacle preventing the dog from exiting the structure.

   (d)   Confinement Outdoors. When outside, all registered dogs shall be confined in a secure enclosure, except when necessary to obtain veterinary care or to comply with commands or directions of a City official. All such enclosures must be adequately lighted and ventilated and kept in clean, sanitary, and humane conditions.

   Whenever necessity requires a registered dog to be outside of the enclosure, the dog shall be securely muzzled and restrained with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds and not exceeding three feet in length, with handgrip, and shall be under the direct control and supervision of the owner, guardian or keeper of the dog.

   (e)   Reserved.

   (f)   Identification Photographs. All owners, guardians, keepers or harborers of a registered dog must, within 10 days of the effective date of this ordinance, provide to the Director of the Department of Animal Care and Control or his/her designee, two color photographs of the registered animal clearly showing the color and approximate size of the animal.

   (g)   Reporting Requirements. All owners, guardians, keepers or harborers of a registered dog must, within 10 days of the incident, report the following information in writing to the Director of the Department of Animal Care and Control or his/her designee:

      (1)   The removal from the City or death of a registered dog;

      (2)   The new address of a registered dog owner or guardian should the owner or guardian move within City limits.

   (h)   Sale or Transfer of Ownership Prohibited. No person shall sell, barter or in any other way dispose of a dog registered with the City to any person within the City; provided that the owner or guardian of a registered dog may sell or otherwise dispose of a registered dog or the offspring of such dog to persons who neither reside within the City nor intend to train, keep, harbor, own, or in any way possess such animal in the City providing written approval of such sale or transfer by an authorized officer or employee of the city or county where the dog is intended to be kept.

   (i)   Violation of Registration Requirements. It shall be unlawful for the owner, guardian, keeper or harborer of a dog registered with the City to fail to comply with the requirements and conditions set forth in this ordinance regarding registration. Any dog found to be the subject of a violation of these registration requirements shall be subject to seizure and impoundment. In addition, failure to comply will be cause for the revocation of the license of such animal resulting in the immediate removal of the animal from the City.

(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87; amended by Ord. 5-03, File No. 021645, App. 1/24/2003; Ord. 267-05, File No. 051606, App. 11/22/2005)