(A) Following receipt of an animal bite report, the Animal Control Officer shall determine if the animal accused of biting is likely to have caused serious injury to the alleged victim, and if the accused animal has been properly inoculated with a rabies vaccine.
(B) After investigation, if the Animal Control Officer concludes the victim has been seriously injured and the alleged animal is likely to have caused the injury, then the owner of the animal accused of biting shall surrender the animal to the Animal Control Officer for quarantine. In the alternative, the owner of the animal accused of biting the victim may surrender the animal to a licensed veterinary physician office located in Warrick County or other contiguous Indiana county for quarantine. An owner of an animal who refuses to surrender the animal to the Animal Control Officer or a licensed veterinary physician for quarantine upon request violates this chapter and shall be subject to the specific penalty provisions of § 131.99(D).
(C) Upon receipt of an animal bite report, the Animal Control Officer may enter upon private property, excluding closed buildings, if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that a biting animal is located on said property.
(D) Upon taking possession of a biting animal, or an animal accused of biting, the Animal Control Officer shall order the animal to be held in quarantine for a period of ten days. In the absence of evidence of a rabies immunization, the animal shall be held in quarantine at the animal control facility or a licensed veterinary facility. If the Animal Control Officer determines that the animal accused of biting has been properly inoculated with a rabies vaccine, the animal may, at the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, be quarantined in the home of the owner or other responsible person if the owner of the animal agrees in writing to comply with all of the provisions of the Home Quarantine Guidelines issued by the State of Indiana. The Home Quarantine Guidelines shall include, without limitation, the following:
(1) The Warrick County Animal Control Officer shall appoint a licensed veterinarian to examine the animal at the end of a ten-day quarantine period. The owner of the animal accused of biting shall be responsible for the costs incurred in examining the animal, as well as a boarding fee of $15 per day, which costs shall be paid prior to the release of the animal at the end of the quarantine period. If the animal is quarantined at a veterinary facility of the owner's choice, the owner shall be solely responsible for the costs and care of the animal in said facility.
(2) If, at the end of the ten-day quarantine period, the veterinarian appointed by the Warrick County Animal Control Officer reasonably believes that the animal is not afflicted with rabies, said animal shall be released from quarantine contingent upon the following:
(a) Compliance with the payment requirements set forth in § 131.33;
(b) Compliance with the inoculation requirements set forth in this section; and
(c) Payment of veterinary expenses for examination during quarantine required under this section.
(3) If an animal dies at any time during a ten-day quarantine period, the animal's head shall be sent to the Indiana State Department of Health for examination. Any costs incurred by Warrick County in connection with such examination shall be the responsibility of the owner of the animal and paid upon notice thereof.
(4) No animal shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at any point during the ten-day period in which the animal is quarantined without the express permission of the Warrick County Animal Control Officer.
(BC Ord. 1992-2, passed 2-10-92; Am. BC Ord. 2003-15, passed 7-16- 03; Am. BC Ord. 2018-26, passed 9-24-18; Am. BC Ord. 2018-34, passed 12-10-18; Am. BC Ord. 2021-19, passed 4-26-21; Am. BC Ord. 2021-35, passed 9-27-21; Am. BC Ord. 2023-27, passed 12-27-23) Penalty, see § 131.99