Whenever the owner of an animal has knowledge that such animal has bitten any person, the owner shall immediately report that fact to the county health officer and report the name and address of the person bitten and the time and place that such person was bitten. Upon order of the county health officer, the owner shall quarantine the animal for the period of time specified in Section 2606 of Title 17 of the California Administrative Code with regard to rabies areas, and shall allow the health officer or his representative to make inspections and examinations of the animal from time to time during such period. The county health officer shall quarantine said animal upon the premises of the owner. However, if the owner of the animal so desires, the county health officer shall place the animal in quarantine in a veterinary hospital or the Visalia Animal Care Center, at the expense of the owner, in lieu of quarantine of the animal on the premises of the owner. Quarantine shall be made by written notice delivered to the owner of said animal stating that the animal is quarantined and the instructions to be followed. If the quarantine is upon the premises of the owner of the animal, the animal shall be confined within a locked enclosure so constructed that the animal cannot escape or have contact with any other animal or human being other than the person responsible for its care or, at the discretion of the health officer, the animal may be kept under restraint by leash in charge of a responsible person, or under such restrictions as the health officer may prescribe. Said animal shall be kept in quarantine until the health officer gives written authorization for the release of the animal from quarantine. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, such animal may be sacrificed with the permission of the health officer for the purpose of a laboratory examination for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody test in an approved public health laboratory.
(Ord. 2019-09 § 2, 2019; prior code § 4648)