(a) Purpose and Intent. It is the intent of the City to protect the health and safety of the public against the risks that dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs pose to persons and other animals in the City. Further, it is the intent of the City to afford dog owners due process when the owner's animal is classified as a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.
(b) Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them below:
(1) “Animal review official” means the animal control officer. If the animal control officer is not available, the Chief of Police shall designate the official to conduct the investigations under this section.
(2) “Authorized enforcement officer” means a police officer or animal control officer.
(3) “City” means the City of Southgate.
(4) “Dangerous dog” means a dog that bites or attacks a person or causes a serious injury to a person or domestic animal, or a dog that bites or attacks and causes serious injury or death to another dog or domestic animal while the other dog or domestic animal is on the property or under the control of its owner. However, a dangerous dog does not include any of the following:
A. A dog that bites or attacks a person who is knowingly trespassing on the property of the dog's owner;
B. A dog that bites or attacks a person who provokes or torments the dog; or
C. A dog that is responding in a manner that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude was designed to protect a person if that person is engaged in a lawful activity or is the subject of an assault.
(5) “Enclosure” means secure confinement indoors or secure confinement in a locked pen, a structure with secure sides, top and bottom, or a yard which is suitable to prevent the entry of young children, and is designed to prevent the dog from escaping from the owner's property.
(6) “Owner” means any person, firm, corporation or organization that owns, possesses, harbors, keeps, or has an interest in, or has control or custody of the dog.
(7) “Potentially dangerous dog” means a dog that poses a threat to public safety as demonstrated by any of the following behaviors:
A. Causing an injury to a person or domestic animal that is less severe than a serious injury;
B. Without provocation, chasing or menacing a person or domestic animal in an aggressive manner; or
C. Running at large and picked up or impounded by an animal control agency three or more times within any twelve-month period.
(8) “Provoke” and “provocation” means to perform a willful act or omission that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude is likely to precipitate the bite or attack by an ordinary dog.
(9) “Serious injury” means permanent, serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health, or serious impairment of a bodily function of a person. Any dog bite requiring stitches to the victim (person or animal) is prima facie evidence of a serious injury.
(10) “Suitable leash” means both that the dog is attached to a leash that is not more than ten feet in length (provided the dog has not been determined to be “potentially dangerous”) and of such material that the leash is capable of restraining, and does restrain the type and size of dog to which it is attached; and that such a leash is continuously held by a person who is reasonably able to and does restrain and prohibit the dog from being out of the person's physical control. A leashed dog that chases a person or domesticated animal a greater distance than ten feet, or that bites a person or domesticated animal constitutes prima facie evidence that such dog is not kept on a suitable leash.
(11) “Torment” means an act or omission that causes unjustifiable pain, suffering, and distress to a dog, or causes mental and emotional anguish in the dog as evidenced by its altered behavior, for a purpose such as sadistic pleasure, coercion, or punishment that an ordinary and reasonable person would conclude is likely to precipitate the bite or attack.
(c) Determination of a Potentially Dangerous Dog.
(1) Upon receipt of a complaint submitted to the animal review official, the animal review official shall review the complaint and submit a request to the local prosecuting attorney for issuance of a municipal civil infraction if said official believes that the dog is a potentially dangerous dog. Upon approval of the local prosecuting attorney, the animal review official or police officer shall serve the municipal civil infraction upon the owner of the dog. In the event that the animal review official or police officer personally observes a potentially dangerous dog then he shall serve a municipal civil infraction upon the owner of the dog.
(2) Upon entry of a judgment on the civil infraction if the owner does not appear or contest the municipal civil infraction, or after a hearing, if the court determines or finds the owner responsible for having a potentially dangerous dog, the defendant is responsible for a municipal civil infraction and shall pay a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) together with court costs.
(3) If any person owns a dog that has been determined to be potentially dangerous pursuant to subsection (b), the owner has ten days from the date of being found responsible to comply with the following:
A. Register the dog with the Southgate Police Department as a potentially dangerous dog and pay a registration fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) annually.
B. Maintain the dog at all times in a proper enclosure.
C. Post the premises where the dog is kept with a clearly visible sign warning that the dog on the premises is potentially dangerous to others. The lettering on the sign shall be visible for a distance of forty feet or more.
(4) Responsibilities of owner. It shall be a violation to:
A. Keep a potentially dangerous dog without a valid certificate of registration required by this section.
B. Permit a potentially dangerous dog to be outside a proper enclosure unless the potentially dangerous dog is under the control of a responsible person and restrained by a suitable leash, not exceeding four feet in length.
C. Fail to notify the animal review official or Police Department immediately if the potentially dangerous dog is on the loose, is unconfined, has attacked another domestic animal, has attacked a human being, has died, has been sold, or has been given away. If the potentially dangerous dog has been sold or given away, the owner shall also provide the animal control officer with the name, address, and telephone number of the new owner of the potentially dangerous dog.
D. Fail to surrender the potentially dangerous dog to the animal review official for safe confinement pending a disposition of the case when there is a reason to believe that the potentially dangerous dog possess a threat to public safety; or failure to comply with any special security or care requirements for a potentially dangerous dog that the animal review official may determine is necessary for public safety.
(d) Determination of a Dangerous Dog.
(1) Upon receipt of a complaint and after conducting an investigation, the animal review official is authorized to make a determination whether a dog is dangerous based upon the factors listed in subsection (b) [under the definition of “dangerous dog”] and shall present findings and a recommendation to the prosecuting attorney for the City requesting issuance of a summons and complaint if he determines the dog to be dangerous.
(2) Upon a sworn complaint that a dog is dangerous and the dog has caused serious injury or death to a person or has caused serious injury or death to an animal, a district court shall issue a summons to the owner ordering him or her to appear to show cause why the animal should not be destroyed.
(3) Upon the filing of a sworn complaint as provided in subsection (b) hereof, the court or magistrate shall order the owner to immediately turn the dog over to a proper dog control authority, an incorporated humane society, a licensed veterinarian, or a boarding kennel, at the owner's option, to be retained by them until a hearing is held and a decision is made for the disposition of the dog. The owner shall notify the person who retains the dog under this section of the complaint and order. The expense of the boarding and retention of the dog is to be borne by the owner. The dog may not be returned to the owner until it has a current rabies vaccination, a license as required by ordinance, and upon order of the court that the dog should be returned.
(4) After a hearing, the magistrate or court shall order the destruction of the dog, at the expense of the owner, if the dog is found to be a dangerous dog that caused serious injury or death to a person or animal. After a hearing, the court may order the destruction of the dog, at the expense of the owner, if the court finds the dog is a dangerous animal that did not cause serious injury or death to a person but is likely in the future to cause serious injury or death to a person or in the past has been adjudicated a dangerous dog.
(5) If the court or magistrate finds that a dog is a dangerous dog but has not caused serious injury or death to a person or animal, the court or magistrate shall notify the animal control authority for the City in which the complaint was filed of the finding of the court, the name of the owner of the dangerous dog, and the address at which the dog was kept at the time of the finding of the court. In addition, the court or magistrate shall order the owner of that dog to do one or more of the following:
A. If the dog that has been found to be a dangerous dog is of the canis familiaris species, have an identification number tattooed upon the animal or inject a microchip, at the owner's expense, by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. The identification number shall be assigned to the dog by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and shall be noted in its records pursuant to Act No. 309 of the Public Acts of 1939, being MCL §§ 287.301 to 287.308. The identification number shall be tattooed on the upper inner left rear thigh of the animal by means of indelible or permanent ink.
B. Take specific steps, such as escape-proof fencing or enclosure, including a top or roof, to ensure that the animal cannot escape or non-authorized individuals cannot enter the premises.
C. Have the animal sterilized.
D. Obtain and maintain liability insurance coverage sufficient to protect the public from any damage or harm caused by the dog.
E. Take any other action appropriate to protect the public.
(e) Transfer of Ownership or Possession. Upon the transfer of ownership or possession of any dangerous dog or potentially dangerous dog, the transferor shall immediately provide the Police Chief with the name, address and telephone numbers of the new owner of the dog and the effective date of the transfer. Any transferee of a dangerous dog or potentially dangerous dog shall be presumed to have notice of the dog's classifications as such.
(f) Removal of Potentially Dangerous Dog Classification. The owner of a dog that has been determined to be a potentially dangerous dog shall be given the opportunity to request that the classification of the dog as a potentially dangerous dog should be reconsidered and removed, which request may be granted by the district court or animal review official, as applicable, if the owner demonstrates that the dog has been incident free for two years, the dog and owner have successfully completed obedience training, the dog has been issued and maintained a canine good citizenship certificate by a certified tester pursuant to the standards of the American Kennel Club, and the owner has complied in all respects with the provisions of this chapter and any applicable court orders.
(g) Violation. Any person who violates any provision is responsible for a municipal civil infraction.
(Ord. 896. Passed 2-3-10.)