(A) No person shall own, harbor, care for, or control a vicious dog within the city until such dog has been registered at the Taft police department on such form(s) as prescribed by the chief of police. Said form shall require the following information: name, address, and telephone number of the dog's owner; the address where said dog is harbored, if different from owner's address; dog's sex, color, and other distinguishing physical characteristics of the dog, city license tag number, as well as proof of current rabies vaccination, and proof of spay/neuter of the animal. Persons owning, harboring, caring for or controlling a vicious dog upon the effective date hereof, shall register such dog as required in this section within sixty (60) days of the effective date hereof. There shall be no fee for such registration.
(B) No person owning or harboring or having the care or custody of a vicious dog shall permit such dog to go unconfined on the premises of such person. A vicious dog is "unconfined" as the term is used in this section if such dog is not securely confined indoors or confined in a securely enclosed and locked pen or a dog run area upon the premises of such person. Such pen or dog run area must have sides a maximum of six feet (6') in height with a secure top, and be located within a fenced yard. If the pen or structure has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be imbedded into the ground no less than one foot (1').
(C) No person owning or harboring or having the care of a vicious dog shall permit such dog to go beyond the premises of such person unless such dog is securely muzzled and restrained with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of three hundred (300) pounds and not exceeding three feet (3') in length.
(D) No person shall own or train, torment, badger, bait or use any dog for the purpose of causing or encouraging such dog to unprovoked attacks upon humans or domestic animals.
(E) No person shall possess with intent to sell, or offer for sale, breed, or buy or attempt to buy within the city any vicious dog.
(F) In the event that a law enforcement officer or animal control officer of the city has probable cause to believe that a vicious dog is being harbored or cared for in violation of any section of this chapter, said officer shall have the authority summarily and immediately to impound the dog pending the completion of a hearing for the purpose of determining whether the dog is a vicious animal as set forth in section 8-2.5-4 of this chapter. (Ord. 693-02, 6-4-2002)