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(Added by Ord. 280-92, App. 8/31/92; amended by Ord. 5-03, File No. 021645, App. 1/24/2003)
(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.
(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)
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)
(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)
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)
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)
(a) Subject to Seizure. Upon the receipt of a signed complaint, or upon the personal observation of an Animal Control Officer, or a representative of the Department of Public Health or Police Department, that a dog is vicious and dangerous, and said dog is on its owner, guardian, keeper or harborer's property, the Animal Control Officer, or the Department of Public Health or Police Department representative, may find the dog presents a danger and is subject to seizure and impoundment. Upon a finding that the dog is subject to seizure, written notice of such finding shall be made to the owner, guardian, keeper or any adult in apparent control or possession of the dog. Prior to the seizure of the dog, the owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog shall be entitled to a hearing as described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(b) Immediate Seizure.
(i) Should any Animal Control Officer, representative of the Department of Public Health or the Police Department determine that probable cause exists to believe that a dog is vicious and dangerous and cannot be properly controlled, such dog is subject to immediate seizure. The owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog shall be entitled to a hearing upon seizure as described in paragraph (c) of this section, and upon the hearing the owner or guardian of any dog found to be vicious or dangerous shall be assessed the costs of sheltering the dog and of administering the ordinance.
(ii) Upon the receipt of a signed complaint, or upon the personal observation of an Animal Control Officer, or a representative of the Department of Public Health or Police Department, that a dog has killed or wounded, or assisted in killing or wounding any domestic animal, or has attacked, assaulted, bit or otherwise injured any person or assisted in attacking, assaulting, biting or otherwise injuring any person, such dog shall be subject to immediate seizure and impoundment. The owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog shall be entitled to a hearing upon seizure as described in paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) (i) Prior to the seizure of any dog authorized by paragraph (a) and within three days of the seizure of any dog pursuant to paragraph (b) a hearing officer shall inform, in writing, the owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog that the person's dog is alleged to be vicious and dangerous and be subject to penalties under this ordinance. Unless the hearing is waived by the owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog, or the hearing is scheduled on an agreed-upon date, the hearing officer shall fix a time not less than 15 nor more than 90 days from date that the enforcement agency locates the dog and/or the owner, guardian or keeper, and fix a place for said hearing and cause all parties to be notified, not less than 10 days before the date of such hearing. The hearing may be informal and the rules of evidence not strictly observed. It shall not be necessary, for the City, to prove that the owner, guardian, or keeper of the dog knew that the dog was vicious and dangerous. Within 15 days following the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue his or her decision to all parties.
(ii) Should the hearing officer find the dog to be vicious and dangerous, the hearing officer shall order the dog be registered pursuant to Section 42.2, and that the dog be spayed or neutered. The hearing officer may, in addition, order other remedies as may be appropriate for the safety of the public, including, but not limited to, an order that the dog and the owner, guardian, keeper and any person in control of the dog attend and complete a basic obedience course under an approved and recognized obedience trainer or dog-training organization. If the hearing officer finds that the owner, guardian, keeper, or other person in control of the dog has not or cannot adequately control his or her dogs, the hearing officer may also prohibit that person or persons from owning or possessing dogs for a period of three years from the date of the order.
(iii) In the event the hearing officer concludes that the dog is vicious and dangerous and that the health, safety and welfare of the community is not adequately addressed by the requirements provided in Section 42.3(c)(ii), the hearing officer may order the dog destroyed.
(iv) The decision of the hearing officer is final.
(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87; amended by Ord. 5-03, File No. 021645, App. 1/24/2003; Ord. 12-05, File No. 041544, App. 1/21/2005; Ord. 267-05, File No. 051606, App. 11/22/2005)
(a) If charged as an infraction, the penalty upon conviction of such person shall be a fine not exceeding $500. A second or subsequent violation within any 12-month period from the initial incident will be punishable as a misdemeanor.
(b) If charged as a misdemeanor, the penalty upon conviction of such person, shall be imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not to exceed one year or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Upon conviction of a misdemeanor the court may prohibit the person from owning, keeping or otherwise being in control of a dog within the City and County for a period of one year. Violation of that prohibition shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(c) The complaint charging such violation shall specify whether the violation charged is a misdemeanor or an infraction.
(d) Allocation of fees and fines collected. All fees and the City's share of all fines collected under this section shall be used only by the Animal Care and Control Department to fund the enforcement of the vicious and dangerous dog program as set forth in this Section.
(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87; amended by Ord. 267-05, File No. 051606, App. 11/22/2005)
Any provision of Sections 42 through 42.3, may be enforced by the Department of Public Health, the Police Department, or the City Animal Control Officer, or any authorized designee. Complaints of any violations of Sections 42 through 42.3 subject to penalties under Section 42.4 shall be presented to the District Attorney for prosecution.
(Added by Ord. 408-87, App. 10/9/87)
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