(A) Every animal that bites or scratches a person shall be reported within four hours to the Chief of Police or the animal warden and shall thereupon be securely quarantined at the veterinarian hospital of the owner’s choice and expense for a period of ten days, and shall not be released from such quarantine except by permission of the veterinarian in charge of the quarantined animal. Such quarantine may be at any veterinary hospital chosen by the owner. Failure of the owner to quarantine his or her animal will make him or her guilty of an offense.
(B) In the case of stray animals, or in the case of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the animal shelter. No animal whose ownership is known may be quarantined at the animal shelter.
(C) The owner, upon demand by an employee empowered to enforce this chapter, shall forthwith surrender any animal that has bitten or scratched a human, or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, the expenses for which shall be borne by the owner, and the animal may be reclaimed by the owner, if adjudged free of rabies.
(D) When an animal under quarantine has been diagnosed as being rabid, or suspected by a licensed veterinarian as being rabid, and dies while under such observation, the animal warden or veterinarian shall immediately send the head of such animal to the State Health Department for pathological examination, and shall notify the proper public health officer of reports of human contacts and diagnosis made of the suspected animal.
(E) When one or both reports give a positive diagnosis of rabies, the agents of the city may recommend a city-wide quarantine for a period of six months, and upon the invoking of such quarantine, no animal shall be taken into the streets, or permitted to be in the streets during such period of quarantine. During such quarantine, no animal shall be taken or shipped from the city without written permission of the health officer of the city or the animal warden.
(F) During such period of rabies quarantine as herein designated, every animal bitten by an animal adjudged to be rabid shall be treated for such rabies infection by a licensed veterinarian, or held under six months’ quarantine by the owner in the same manner as other animals are quarantined.
(G) In the event there are additional positive cases of rabies occurring during the period of the quarantine, such period of quarantine may be extended for an additional six months.
(H) No person shall kill or cause to be killed any rabid animal, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting or scratching a human, except as herein provided, nor to remove same from the city limits without written permission from the agents of the city or the animal warden.
(I) The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the animal warden.
(J) The animal warden shall direct the disposition of any animal found to be infected with rabies.
(K) No person shall fail or refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine or destruction as required herein when demand is made therefor by an employee empowered to enforce this chapter. Such refusal shall be deemed an offense.
(L) It is the duty of every physician, veterinarian, or other practitioner to report to the animal warden the names and addresses of persons treated for bites inflicted by animals, together with such other information as will be helpful in rabies control.
(M) It is the duty of every licensed veterinarian to report to the city animal warden his or her diagnosis of any animal observed by him or her to be a rabid suspect.
(Prior Code, § 90.21) (Ord. 381, passed 6-25-1974) Penalty, see § 90.99