(a) Within five (5) business day after declaring a dog dangerous or vicious, the City Manager or his/her designee shall notify the owner by certified mail of the dog’s designation as a dangerous dog or vicious and any specific restrictions and conditions for keeping the dog, as set for in Section 508.06. The City Manager also shall notify the Police Department and the City’s Animal Control Officer of the designation of any dog as a dangerous or vicious dog. Such notification shall describe the dog and specify any particular requirements or conditions placed upon the dog owner.
(b) If the City Manager or his/her designee cannot with due diligence locate the owner of a dog that has been seized pursuant to this article, the City Manager shall cause the dog to be impounded for not less than five (5) business days. If after five (5) days, the owner fails to claim the dog, the City Manager may cause the dog to be humanely destroyed by offering satisfactory proof before a municipal court, circuit court, or magistrate that such dog is vicious, dangerous, or in the habit of biting or attacking other persons or other dogs or animals, thereafter, the judge may authorize the humane officer to cause such dog to be killed. (See W. Va. Code § 19-20-20).
(Ord. 13176. Passed 1-17-06.)