Chapter 6.04 ANIMAL CONTROL

The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations for the control of dogs within the corporate limits of the city which are consistent with the regulations established by the other jurisdictions in the immediate area. (Ord. 2198 (part), 1976)

6.04.020 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases, unless the context otherwise requires, shall mean:

A. "Abandoned dog" means any dog left without proper food and water for a period of twenty-four hours, or any barking dogs without supervision for over a period of twenty-four hours.

B. "At large" means a dog or other animal inside the corporate limits of the city, off the premises of the owner, and not under complete control by adequate leash. Excepted from this definition are dogs in obedience or field training exercises under the direct supervision of a handler in areas designated and posted by the city.

C. "Barking dog" means a dog which persistently barks or howls and thereby unreasonably deprives a person of peace and quiet.

D. "Commercial dog kennel" means a place of business for the care of dogs, including but not limited to, the boarding, grooming, breeding, training or selling of dogs. The term is not intended to include an animal hospital or a noncommercial kennel.

E. "Dangerous animal" means any animal, other than a dog, which has the propensity to bite or attack any person without provocation and the capacity to inflict serious harm on that person. It shall be presumed that any animal other than a dog, which has injured a human being on two occasions without provocation is a dangerous animal.

F. "Dog control authority" means the dog control enforcement authority appointed by the city. A dog officer is an officer of the dog control authority.

G. "Dog owner" means any person, firm, association, or corporation who is the licensed owner of a dog, or who has a right of property in a dog, or who harbors a dog or who has it in his care, possession, custody, or control, or who knowingly permits a dog to remain on any premises occupied by him. Except for purposes of Sections 6.04.100, 6.04.110, 6.04.130, 6.04.150, 6.04.170 through 6.04.200, "owner" does not include veterinarians or commercial kennel operators temporarily maintaining on their premises for a period of not more than thirty days dogs owned by other persons. Any person, except a veterinarian or commercial kennel operator, who resides where a dog is kept, harbored or cared for, shall be presumed to be the owner of that dog. This presumption may be rebutted by proof that such person has not property right in the dog, is not the licensed owner, and is neither harboring nor caring for the dog.

H. "Leash" means any humane device constructed of rope, leather strap, chain or other sturdy material not exceeding eight feet in length, being held in the hand of the person capable of controlling the animal to which it is attached.

I. "Livestock" means cattle, sheep, horses, goats, fowl, poultry, and any furbearing animal bred and maintained commercially or otherwise within pens, cages and hutches.

J. "Neutered" means the removal of the ovaries and uterus (ovarian hysterectomy), in female dogs; or the removal of male gonads in male dogs.

K. "Noncommercial dog kennel" means an establishment or premises where three or more dogs, over four months of age, are boarded, kept or maintained for the hobby of the householder. The term does not include an animal hospital.

L. "Vicious dog" means any dog which has the propensity to bite or attack any person without provocation and the capacity to inflict serious harm on that person shall be regarded -as vicious. It shall be presumed that any dog which has bitten a human being on two occasions without provocation is a vicious dog.

M. "Watchdog" means a vicious dog confined at a business or commercial establishment to protect merchandise, inventory or equipment. (Ord. 2198 §1, 1976)

II. LICENSES, FEES AND REGULATIONS

6.04.030 Dog licenses.

A. Every person who keeps a dog which has a set of permanent canine teeth or has attained the age of four months, whichever event occurs first, not permanently confined in a cage or enclosure shall immediately obtain a -license for said dog.

B. Licenses shall be issued on a calendar-year basis and shall be valid only for the year issued. The annual license flee shall be prorated as of the date of issuance.

C. No license shall be issued until a certificate of vaccination for rabies, valid for the license year, is presented to the dog control authority.

D. Dog owners shall renew the dog license before it becomes delinquent for as long as they own the dog.

E. A license tag issued to a dog owner shall be attached securely to a collar or harness on the dog for which it was issued. If a license tag is lost, the owner may obtain a duplicate license tag upon satisfactory proof of loss and payment of the required fee. (Ord. 2682 §2, 1991; Ord. 2592 §2, 1987; Ord. 2198 §5(l), 1976)

6.04.040 Kennel license.

A. No person shall operate a kennel, whether commercial or noncommercial, without the appropriate kennel license. Kennel licenses shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance.

B. Kennel licenses are in lieu of individual dog licenses. Dogs licensed under this section must at all times be confined to the kennel premises so as not to be at large.

C. No kennel license will be issued under this section to anyone not in conformity with applicable zoning statutes and ordinances.

D. The following provisions shall govern revocation of kennel licenses:

1. Three or more violations of this code within a period of twelve calendar months shall result in revocation of licenses granted under this section.

2. Such revocation may occur only after a hearing before the municipal court judge and after the licensee has been mailed a notice of a time to appear at least five days in advance of the hearing. Such notice shall include a general statement of the reasons for commencing the revocation proceedings.

3. If the license is revoked, the licensee shall have ten days in which to file a written appeal, on a form to be provided by the dog control authority, to the city council. Should no appeal be made, the revocation is effective upon the expiration of the appeal period. (Ord. 2198 §5(2), 1976)

6.04.050 License fees--Generally.

The dog license fee which is due and payable upon the issuance of a license, and the other fees required to be paid under the provisions of this chapter shall be as determined in ordinance 2361, set out in this code in "Fee Schedule." (Ord. 2539 §1, 1984: Ord. 2198 §5(3), 1976)

6.04.060 License fees--Exceptions.

A. No license fee shall be required for any dog owned by a blind person who uses the dog as a guide. A license shall be issued for such dog upon proper proof of rabies vaccination and upon filing of an affidavit by the blind person showing such dog to come within this exemption. Such affidavit shall be filed with the dog control authority.

B. One-half price individual dog license will be provided for dogs which have been neutered. Dog owners applying for this reduced fee must present to the dog control authority a certificate from a licensed veterinarian stating that the dog to be licensed has been neutered.

C. After application upon a form to be provided by the dog control authority, a permit may be issued to the licensed owner of a dog to use that dog as a watchdog. The fee for such permit shall be in addition to the individual dog license fee.

D. One-half price individual dog licenses will be provided for any dog owned by a person sixty-five years of age or older upon proper proof of rabies vaccination and proper proof of age. (Ord. 2198 §5(4), 1976)

III. IMPOUNDMENT OF DOGS

6.04.070 Impoundment requirements.

A. Any peace officer or dog control officer may impound a dog that is in violation of this code.

B. The dog control authority shall impound a dog if the owner of the dog has not posted bail or paid a fine for a violation of this code imposed by the municipal judge. For any dog so seized, the notice and disposition of the dog shall be in the same manner as for licensed dogs under the provisions of this code.

C. Any person whose property has been trespassed upon by any dog in violation of this code may immediately apprehend that dog upon his premises and hold the dog until delivery to a dog control officer, or to any peace officer. Any person who so impounds a dog must immediately notify the dog control authority of such impoundment. (Ord. 2198 §8, 1976)

6.04.080 Impounding regulations and disposition of impounded dogs.

A. The dog control authority shall keep any dog impounded for the period of time specified in this chapter. A daily record of such dogs shall be kept at the place of impoundment and shall be made available to the public. The dog control authority shall dispose of such dogs in accordance with the following provisions:

1. An unlicensed dog or a dog for which the owner is unknown which has not been redeemed within seventy-two hours after impoundment may be sold or destroyed.

2. A licensed dog or a dog for which the owner is known which has not been redeemed within one hundred twenty hours of notification of the owner by telephone contact or by mailing of impoundment notice may be sold or destroyed.

B. Except as provided in subsection Al of this section, the dog control authority shall notify the owner by telephone or by the mailing of an impoundment notice as soon as practicable after impoundment. The impoundment notice shall advise the owner of the place where the dog is kept, the procedures required for the redemption of the dog, the fees for the impoundment, daily care and redemption, and the consequences of failure to redeem the dog.

C. A dog owner whose dog is impounded as a vicious dog under Section 6.04.200 within the period described in subsection A of this section, whichever is applicable, believing himself aggrieved by the seizure and impounding of his dog, may apply to the municipal judge for the release of his dog, and the municipal judge shall thereupon set a time and place for hearing the application and notify the impounding officer, and upon a summary hearing the municipal judge shall have full power to determine whether the dog has been wrongfully impounded and whether it shall be returned to its owner, and upon what terms.

D. Notwithstanding the previous sections, any dog given to the dog control authority by the owner for disposal may be destroyed immediately, or, in the alternative sold to any person (dogs specifically requested by the owner to be destroyed shall be destroyed). (Ord. 2198 §9, 1976)

6.04.090 Redemption and sale.

A. Redemption of an impounded dog shall be made by exhibiting satisfactory proof of ownership and by paying the following required fees and charges:

1. Impoundment fee;

2. Daily care fee;

3. License and rabies vaccination fees, if required;

4. Medical care fees, if required.

B. Impounded dogs may be sold.

C. When a dog is sold by the dog control authority, the purchaser shall pay any required license and rabies vaccination fees.

D. No live dog shall be sold by the dog control authority for surgical or medical demonstration or vivisection.

E. Except as otherwise provided, if after one hundred twenty hours an impounded dog cannot be sold, the dog control authority is authorized and empowered to destroy the dog by any humane method permitted under state law. (Ord. 2620 §1, 198EI: Ord. 2198 §10, 1976)

IV. MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS

6.04.100 Dogs at large prohibited.

No dog owner shall permit a dog to be at large. (Ord. 2198 §2, 1976)

6.04.110 Barking or howling dogs.

No person shall own a barking dog. (Ord. 2198 §3, 1976)

6.04.120 Dog waste matter.

It is unlawful for a dog owner to allow the dog to deposit solid waste matter on any improved property other than that of the dog owner. it shall be a defense to this section if the dog owner immediately removes the solid waste. (Ord. 2198 §4, 1976)

6.04.130 Abandoned dogs.

No dog owner shall permit his (log to be abandoned. Any peace officer or dog control officer may:

1. Provide food and water to abandoned dogs. The dog owner shall pay for such services;

2. Impound any abandoned dog. As soon as practical, notice of impoundment under this section shall be posted at the house or be mailed to the owner or if the owner is unknown, to the address at which the dog was found and impounded. (Ord. 2198 §6, 1976)

6.04.140 Sick or injured dog.

A. Any sick or injured dog found by a peace officer or dog control officer off the premises of its owner shall be delivered to its owner. Any such dog for which the owner is either unknown or cannot be reached after reasonable attempts to do so, shall be delivered by the dog control authority to a veterinarian for medical treatment. Upon delivery to a veterinarian, the following procedures shall apply:

1. When a dog is unlicensed and the owner is unknown, the veterinarian shall determine whether the dog is SO Severely injured or incurably crippled that the humane thing to do would be to destroy the dog. If a determination is Made to destroy the dog, the dog may be destroyed immediately. If the veterinarian determines instead that the dog should be given treatment, such treatment may be given; provided, however, that the dog may be destroyed if unclaimed by it’ s owner within seventy-two hours after being delivered to the veterinarian.

2. When the dog is licensed or the owner is known and cannot be reached, the veterinarian shall determine whether the dog is so severely injured or incurably crippled that the humane thing to do would be to destroy the dog. If a determination is made to destroy the dog, the dog may be destroyed immediately. If the veterinarian determines; instead that the dog should be given treatment; such treatment may be given; provided, however, the dog may be destroyed if unclaimed by its owner within one hundred twenty hours after being delivered to the veterinarian.

B. Any peace officer or dog control officer may humanely destroy any dog too severely injured to move and not on the property of its owner, when the owner is either unknown or cannot be reached after reasonable attempts to do SO.

C. Arrangements for fees, selection of veterinarians, liability of veterinarians shall be as determined by separate contracts between the dog control authority and individual veterinarians.

D. The owner shall pay for any reasonable medical expenses incurred in accordance with this section. (Ord. 2198 §7, 1976)

6.04.150 Killing and chasing livestock.

A. No dog owner shall permit his dog to chase, kill, wound, or injure livestock not belonging to the dog owner while off the premises owned or under the control of the dog owner.

B. If any dog not under the control of any person is found chasing livestock not the property of its owner, it shall be deemed prima facie as engaged in killing, wounding or injuring livestock.

C. No person shall own any dog with knowledge that it has killed or wounded livestock.

D. No owner shall permit a dog to be at large and to chase livestock not belonging to the dog owner.

E. A dog found to have chased, killed, wounded, or injured livestock in violation of this section shall be impounded, and disposed of in accordance with Section 6.04.080. (Ord. 2198 §11, 1976)

6.04.160 Dead dogs--Removal of carcasses.

No person shall knowingly permit a dog carcass owned by him to remain on public property or to be exposed on private property for more than twenty-four hours. (Ord. 2198 §16, 1976)

V. DANGEROUS ANIMALS AND QUARANTINE

6.04.170 Dangerous animals.

A. No person, firm, association, or corporation who is the owner of a dangerous animal, or who has a right of property in, or who harbors, has in his care, possession, custody or control a dangerous animal, shall allow a dangerous animal to be exposed to the public.

B. A dangerous animal which has been exposed to the public may be impounded by any peace officer or dog control officer and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this code for the impoundment and disposition of dogs, except, before a dangerous animal is released, the municipal judge must enter findings that proper precautions will be taken to insure the public health and safety.

C. A dangerous animal running at large which, because of its disposition or diseased condition, is too hazardous to apprehend may be destroyed by a peace officer, dog control officer, or by a person acting in defense of himself, his family or another person. (Ord. 2198 §12, 1976)

6.04.180 Reporting of biting dogs or other animals.

A. The owner of a dog or other animal which bites a human being shall immediately notify the dog control authority of such bite, the time and circumstances of such bite and the name and address of the person bitten, if known.

B. Any person who is bitten by a dog or other animal shall forthwith notify the dog control authority of such bite giving a description of the dog or other animal, the time and circumstances of the bite and the name and address of the owner, if known.

C. When a doctor, veterinarian, hospital employee, or other person has information that a person has been bitten by a dog or other animal, such person shall forthwith notify the dog control authority. (Ord. 2198 §13, 1976)

6.04.190 Biting and rabid dogs or other animal--Quarantine.

A. When either the dog control authority or the department of public health and sanitation or public safety of the county has grounds to suspect that a dog or other animal is infected with the disease of rabies, there shall be delivered to the owner of the dog or other animal, a written notice thereof. The owner shall thereupon be required to quarantine the dog or other animal for ten days. The biting of any person by the dog or other animal shall constitute adequate grounds for suspecting the dog or other animal to be so infected. The delivery of the notice to a member of the owner’s family fourteen years of age or older at the premises where the dog or other animal is kept or at the owner’s usual place of abode, shall be considered a delivery of the notice to the owner. Any dog or other animal required to be quarantined shall be confined as follows:

1. On the owner’s premises in such a manner as to prevent it from being in contact with any other animal or person; or

2. At the owner’s expense in a veterinary hospital, the Lane Humane Society, or a kennel approved by either the department of health and sanitation or the dog control authority;

B. Any animal that has been bitten by a dog or other animal proved to be rabid shall be destroyed.

C. If a dog or other animal exhibits symptoms of rabies while it is under quarantine, the director of public health may order in writing that it be destroyed and that its head be submitted to the State Public Health Laboratory. (Ord. 2198 §14, 1976)

6.04.200 Vicious dogs.

A. Except for licensed watchdogs, no person shall own a vicious dog.

B. A vicious dog may be impounded by any peace officer or dog control officer and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this code for the impoundment and disposition of dogs.

C. A vicious dog running at large which because of its disposition or diseased condition is too hazardous to apprehend, may be destroyed by a peace officer, dog control officer, or by a person acting in defense of himself, his family, or another person. (Ord. 2198 §15, 1976)

6.04.210 Posting for vicious or dangerous dog.

The owners of a vicious or dangerous dog as defined by this chapter shall post a sign warning persons of the location of the dog and that the dog is dangerous which notice shall be visible from the street or sidewalk area to persons passing near the animal or premises. (Ord. 2398 §2(A), 1981: Ord. 2198 §15A, 1976)

VI. ENFORCEMENT

6.04.220 Entry onto private land.

Any dog control officer or any peace officer shall have the privilege of entering onto private land in the course of the officer’s duties in enforcing the provisions of this code, but such officer shall not enter into any building or dwelling without legal authorization or permission of the owner or occupant of the premises. (Ord. 2198 §17, 1976)

6.04.230 Enforcement authority.

Officers of the dog control authority appointed by the city are empowered to enforce the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 2198 §18, 1976)

6.04.240 Violation--Penalty.

A. A person who violates the following sections shall be punishable upon conviction by imprisonment in the city jail for a period not to exceed thirty days or by such fine or assessment provided, or both.

1. A person who violates Section 6.04.100 or 6.04.110 shall be punished upon conviction by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars. For a second offense within a one-year period the animal shall be impounded and the owner shall be subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars plus impoundment redemption fees as provided in this chapter.

2. A person who violates Section 6.04.120 shall be punished upon conviction by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars. For a second offense within a one-year period the fine shall be not less than one hundred dollars.

3. A person who violates Section 6.04.030 shall be punished upon conviction by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars. For a second offense within a one-year period the fine shall be fifty dollars and the dog shall be impounded and the owner shall be subject to payment of the redemption fees and costs for recovering the dog in addition to the fine.

4. A person who violates Section 6.04.200 shall be punished, upon conviction, by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars.

B. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter a person convicted of violating this chapter shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the city jail for not more than thirty days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and in addition thereto the court may require the defendant to pay the costs of the proceedings, restitution and may impose such other conditions and restrictions as the court deems reasonable. (Ord. 2803 §2, 1997: Ord. 2554 §2, 1985; Ord. 2398 §2(B), 1981: Ord. 2257 §2, 1978: Ord. 2198 §21, 1976)