(A) Determination and designation. A Town of Sellersburg Animal Control Officer ("Animal Control Officer"), Town of Sellersburg Police Officer ("Police Officer"), or Town of Sellersburg Code Enforcement Officer ("Code Enforcement Officer") may determine upon personal observation and investigation that an animal is vicious and/or dangerous animal as defined by this chapter.
(1) Should the Animal Control Officer, Police Officer, or Code Enforcement Officer determine an animal to be vicious or dangerous, the officer shall notify the owner or any person having custody or control over said vicious/dangerous animal in writing, a copy of which shall be filed with the Town Clerk-Treasurer's Office. If said custodial person or person harboring the animal is not the owner of the property, said property owner shall also be notified.
(2) The owner or the person having custody or control of said vicious/dangerous animal may appeal the determination to the Town Council of Sellersburg provided said appeal is made in writing to Animal Control within ten days. The Town Council shall conduct a hearing providing the owner or the person having custody or control of said vicious/dangerous animal an opportunity to present evidence at which time the Town Council shall decide whether the officer's determination was warranted. The animal in question shall remain in the custody of Animal Control pending the appeal at the costs of the owner or the person having the custody or control of said vicious/dangerous animal.
(B) Registration of vicious or dangerous animal. Upon proper written notification by a Police Officer, Animal Control Officer, or Code Enforcement Officer, to the owner of an animal that said animal is deemed vicious or dangerous, the owner of the animal is required to register the animal with the Sellersburg Police Department within seven days. The owner of said vicious or dangerous animal is also required to provide to the Sellersburg Police Department within 14 days of notification that said owner's insurance company has been notified that a vicious or dangerous animal is being kept on the premises. If the owner of the vicious or dangerous animal is not the owner of the property, the Police Officer, Animal Control Officer, or Code Enforcement Officer will notify the property owner as well as the property owners insurance company.
(C) Confinement.
(1) No person shall allow any vicious or dangerous animal to be on any private or public property, other than the animal's owner or keeper's property, unless such animal is securely muzzled and leashed or caged. Adequate safeguards shall be taken to prevent unauthorized access to any vicious or dangerous animal on the owner's property by persons lawfully on the property.
(2) No vicious or dangerous animal may be kept on a porch, patio, or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the animal to exit such building on its own volition. In addition, no such vicious or dangerous animal may be kept in a house or structure when the windows are open or when screen windows or screen doors are the only obstacles preventing the animal from exiting the structure.
(3) The owner of a domestic or vicious animal shall not suffer or permit the animal to go unconfined.
(4) Any owner or keeper of an animal that has been determined to be vicious or dangerous shall confine said vicious or dangerous animal in a fenced-in yard with a lock gate. Said fence shall have such sufficient height so as to prevent the animal from escaping. In lieu of a fenced yard, the owner of the animal shall keep said animal in a locked pen or cage. Said pen or cage shall have secure sides and a secure top and bottom attached to the sides and the sides must be imbedded into the ground no less than one foot if outside and sitting on the ground. Any owner or keeper of an animal determined to be vicious or dangerous shall have seven days to comply with these confinement provisions. For each day after the seventh day, the owner, or keeper of said animal shall be fined. If the owner of said animal is not the owner of the property on which the vicious or dangerous animal is located, the owner of the property is also subject to the same fine.
(D) Leash and muzzle. The owner of a domestic or vicious animal shall not suffer or permit the animal to be outside of the owner's structure, where the animal may come into contact with a child, unless the animal is securely muzzled and restrained in a cage, chained, by a leash or chain, and is under the physical restraint of a person. The muzzle shall be made in a manner so as not to cause injury to the animal or interfere with its vision or respiration, but shall prevent it from biting any human or other animal.
(E) Signs. The owner of a vicious or dangerous animal shall display in a prominent place on his or her premises a clearly visible warning sign (i.e. "DANGER VICIOUS ANIMAL") indicating that there is a vicious or dangerous animal on the premises. A similar sign is required to be posted on the pen or kennel of the animal, The lettering on the sign shall be in all capital letters, a minimum of six inches in red on a white background.
(F) Insurance. Owners of vicious or dangerous animals, as determined above, must within 14 days of said determination, provide to the Sellersburg Police Department proof of liability insurance in the amount of at least of $150,000, insuring the owner, keeper, or harborer of said vicious or dangerous animal for any personal injuries inflicted by his/her vicious/dangerous animal. If the owner of the animal is not the owner of the property, the owner of the property must also provide the same proof and level of liability insurance.
(G) Cropping of ears or tails. No person shall crop a dog's ears or tail, except for a veterinarian.
(H) Poisons. No person shall place an poisonous substance which may be harmful to any domestic animal, livestock, poultry or community cats, as described herein, in any location where it may be readily found and eaten by such animal.
(I) Removal of animal in immediate danger. Any animal observed by a Police Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, or Animal Control Officer to be in immediate danger may be removed from such situation by the quickest and most reasonable means available.
(J) Abandonment. Any animal found not under restraint without a license, vaccination tag, a chip, or any animal found in a condition which requires immediate veterinary care, shall be presumed to be abandoned and may be seized. Notice of seizure of an animal from property shall be posted on the premises from which the animal was seized which notice shall clearly state the address and telephone number of the facility to which the animal was taken.
(K) Interference with enforcement prohibited. No person shall release or attempt to release an animal from Jeffersonville Animal Shelter or a humane trap which belongs to the Jeffersonville Animal Shelter facility.
(Ord. 2017-OR-008, passed 4-24-17)