(A) Giving animals as prizes. No person or group of persons shall give away any live animal, domestic animal, or reptile as a prize for, or as an inducement to enter any contract, game, or other competition, or as an inducement to enter a place of amusement; or offer such a vertebrate as an incentive to enter into any business agreement in which the offer was for the purpose of attracting trade.
(B) Poisoning animals. No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that it shall be liable to be eaten by any animal; provided, that it shall not be unlawful for a person to expose on his or her own property common rat or mouse poison, unmixed or mixed only with vegetable substances.
(C) Motor vehicle accidents involving animals. Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle, strikes a dog or cat, shall at once report the accident to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
(D) Use of devices to induce performance. No performing animal exhibition or circus shall be permitted in which animals are induced or encouraged to perform through the use of chemical, mechanical, electrical, or manual devices in a manner that is likely to cause physical injury or suffering.
(E) General animal care.
(1) Every owner of an animal within the city shall see that his or her animal:
(a) Is kept in a clean, sanitary, and healthy manner and is not confined so as to be forced to stand, sit, or lie in its own excrement;
(b) Has proper and adequate food, water, shelter, and protection from the weather;
(c) If diseased or injured, receives care as necessary to prevent suffering and, if diseased, is segregated from other animals so as to prevent the transmittal of the disease to other animals;
(d) Is not beaten, cruelly ill-treated, overloaded, overworked, or otherwise abuse any animal or cause, instigate, or permit any dog fight, cockfight, bullfight or other combat between animals or between animals and humans; and
(e) Is not physically altered in any manner by anyone other than a veterinarian, with the exception of tattooing and grooming.
(2) Division (E)(1) above shall also apply to animals kept at the Agency Shelter.
(3) No animal shall be left unattended in a vehicle when the conditions in that vehicle would constitute a health hazard to the animal.
(F) Abandonment. No owner of an animal or any other person shall abandon an animal.
(G) Destruction of animals. No person other than a duly authorized agent of the Agency Shelter may destroy any domestic animal within the city limits; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to the following:
(1) A licensed veterinarian or registered animal technician;
(2) Those persons acting in immediate self- protection;
(3) City police officers or firefighters acting to prevent undue suffering; or
(4) Licensed butcher and slaughterhouse establishments.
(H) Substances permitted for use. The Agency Shelter, other animal shelters, and public animal facilities which destroy animals in the city, shall use only sodium phenobarbital or a derivative substance for that purpose.
(I) Persons authorized to destroy animals. Only persons trained in humane procedures by licensed veterinarians or by registered animal technicians shall perform the destruction of animals in a humane manner.
(J) Assurance of death prior to disposal. No animal’s body shall be disposed of until all vital signs are checked (fixed pupil, cessation of heartbeat and respiration) to assure that death has occurred.
(K) Dog shelter regulations. Unless a dog is an inside pet and has otherwise adequate shelter, as determined by the Police Department as enforcement authority of this section, all dog owners shall provide dog shelters as follows:
(1) Have five sides, including a top, a bottom and three sides;
(2) Be of adequate size to allow the dog to stand up and turn about freely;
(3) Have a floor constructed so as to protect the dog’s feet and legs from injury;
(4) Allow dog(s) kept outdoors to remain dry during inclement weather and have adequate shade during hot sunny weather; and
(5) Be constructed and maintained so that the dog contained therein has convenient access to clean food and water.
(1987 Code, § 6-123) (Ord. 13, 1995, passed 5-8-1995; Am. Ord. 1, 2000, passed 1-24-2000; Am. Ord. 19, 2001, passed 8-27-2001; Am. Ord. 1, 2007, passed 3-12-2007) Penalty, see § 97.99