(a) (1) There is hereby created the position of Animal Control Officer for the city and such officer shall be charged with the enforcement of this chapter. Any person employed by the city as an Animal Control Officer and commissioned by the Chief of Police of the city shall have such powers and authority as allowed by law in the enforcement of this chapter.
(2) All Animal Control Officers shall be subject to the supervision and direction of the Chief of Police of the city.
(b) Except as provided in division (c) below, it shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to take up and impound all animals found in the city in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(c) As an alternative to the provisions of division (b) above, any law enforcement officer or the Animal Control Officer may issue a citation to the owner, harborer or keeper of an animal in violation of this chapter, and the person receiving the citation shall, within ten days, appear in the Municipal Court of the city to answer the charged violation of this chapter.