Chapter 6.05 ANIMAL CONTROL

“Abandoned dog” means any dog left without proper food and water for a period over 24 hours, or any barking dogs without supervision for a period of over 24 hours.

“Animal control officer” means any person operating under the authority of the city or pursuant to an agreement with the city, for the purpose of:

1. Providing shelter and other care for lost, homeless or injured animals;

2. Service as an information center concerning missing and found animals;

3. Protecting the public from hazardous or unsanitary conditions associated with animals that are running at large; or

4. Protecting animals from neglect, cruelty or abuse.

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

“Commercial 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 from which dogs are occasionally sold.

“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.

“Dangerous dog” means a dog that:

1. Without provocation and in an aggressive manner inflicts serious physical injury, as defined in this chapter, on a person or kills a person;

2. Acts as a potentially dangerous dog, as defined in this chapter, after having previously committed an act as a potentially dangerous dog that resulted in the keeper being found to have violated JCMC 6.05.130(A); or

3. Is used as a weapon in the commission of a crime.

“Dog license” means the license required to be annually issued for each individual dog.

Dog Running at Large. A dog is “running at large” which is not on the property of the owner and is not under the immediate control of its owner or not otherwise controlled by a competent person. The term “running at large” does not include the use of a dog under the supervision of a person to hunt, chase or tree predatory animals or game birds, or the use of a dog to control or protect livestock or in other related agricultural activities.

“Domestic animal” means a dog, cat, or other animal, the keeping of which is not otherwise prohibited under the terms of this section, that has been raised or maintained in confinement or otherwise domesticated so as to live in a tame condition.

“Livestock” means cattle, sheep, horses, goats, swine, fowl, poultry and any fur-bearing animal bred and maintained commercially or otherwise within pens, cages and hutches.

“Neuter” means to remove the ovaries and uterus, ovarian hysterectomy, in female dogs, or to remove the male gonads in male dogs.

“Noncommercial kennel” means any premises on which three or more dogs, which would be required to be individually licensed by JCMC 6.05.110 if not in a kennel, are kept for the hobby of the householder, in using them for hunting or tracking, field trials and training, for exhibition in dog shows or obedience trials, or for guarding the householder’s property.

“Owner” means any person who owns, keeps, or harbors a dog, except a veterinarian or an operator of a commercial kennel insofar as they may keep dogs in the course of their business. In accordance with ORS 609.020, dogs are declared personal property.

“Potentially dangerous dog” means a dog that: (1) Without provocation and while not on premises from which the keeper may lawfully exclude others, menaces a person; (2) Without provocation, inflicts physical injury on a person that is less severe than a serious physical injury; or (3) Without provocation and while not on premises from which the keeper may lawfully exclude others, inflicts physical injury on or kills a domestic animal.

“Serious physical injury” means physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ.

“Vicious dog” means any dog which has the propensity to bite or attack any person without provocation. A dog shall not be considered a vicious dog if it bites a person wrongfully assaulting the dog or the dog’s owner, or if it bites a person trespassing upon premises occupied by the dog’s owner after being provoked by that person.

“Watch dog” means a vicious dog confined at a business or commercial establishment to protect merchandise, inventory, or equipment. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.020 Dangerous animals.

No owner or person in charge of an animal shall permit an animal which is dangerous to the public health or safety to be exposed in public. If the animal is exposed in public, it may be taken into custody by the city and disposed of in accordance with the procedures provided by this chapter for the impoundment of dogs, except that before the animal is released by the city, the municipal judge must find that proper precautions will be taken to ensure the public health and safety. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.030 Livestock and poultry – Exceptions.

A. Except as allowed in subsection (B) of this section, no person shall keep or maintain livestock, bees, or poultry within the city.

B. Exceptions.

1. A domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat, bird, rodent (including rabbit), fish, or turtle, that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purpose.

2. Cattle, sheep, or goats kept on property of over two contiguous acres, for periods of no longer than three weeks during the months of March through October, for biomechanical weed control; or

3. As otherwise permitted by ordinance. [Ord. 1249 § 1, 2017; Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.040 Animals at large.

Except for household pets, no owner or person in charge of an animal shall permit the animal to be at large. Animals at large may be taken into custody by the city and disposed of in accordance with the procedures provided by this chapter for the impoundment of dogs. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.050 Removal of carcasses.

No person shall permit an animal carcass owned or controlled by him to remain upon public property or to be exposed on private property for a period of time longer than 24 hours. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.060 Prohibiting dogs running at large.

No owner shall intentionally or negligently permit a dog to run at large. All dogs are subject to the leash requirements set in JCMC 6.05.130. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.070 Abandoned dogs.

A. No dog owner shall permit his dog to be abandoned. Any animal 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.

B. No owner shall refuse to pick up the animal from the city of Junction City after it has been impounded for any lawful reason. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.080 Dog waste matter.

It shall be 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. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.090 Impoundment of dogs.

A. Any peace officer or animal control officer may impound a dog that is in violation of this chapter, provided, however, the officer shall impound a vicious dog.

B. Any property owner or tenant whose property has been trespassed upon by any dog may hold the dog until delivery to an animal control officer or to any peace officer, unless the dog owner has arrived and is demanding the return of the animal, at which time the property owner or tenant shall relinquish control if identification of the dog owner is established. Any person who so impounds a dog shall immediately notify the city of Junction City of such impoundment. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.100 Impoundment, redemption and sale.

A. Impounding Regulations and Disposition of Impounded Dogs.

1. The city of Junction City shall arrange for the dog impoundment for the period of time hereinafter specified. A daily record of such dogs shall be kept at the place of impoundment and shall be made available to the public. The city shall dispose of such dogs in accordance with the following provisions:

a. An unlicensed dog or a dog for which the owner is unknown, which has not been redeemed within 72 hours after impoundment, excluding weekends and holidays, may be sold, adopted or destroyed.

b. A licensed dog or a dog for which the owner is known, which has not been redeemed within 120 hours after notification of the owner by telephone contact or by mailing of impoundment notice, may be sold, adopted or destroyed.

2. Except as provided in subsection (A)(1)(a) of this section, the city of Junction City 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.

3. A dog owner whose dog is impounded as a vicious dog within the period described in subsection (A)(1)(a) or (b) 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 a place for hearing the application and notify the impounding officer and upon a summary hearing at such time and place the municipal judge shall have full power to determine whether the dog has been wrongfully impounded and whether he shall be returned to his owner and upon what terms. Payment of the impoundment fee shall not prejudice a dog owner’s right to appeal an allegedly wrongful impoundment.

4. Notwithstanding the previous sections, any dog given to the city of Junction City by the owner for disposal may be destroyed immediately, or, in the alternative, sold to any person.

B. Impoundment – Redemption and Sale.

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

a. Impoundment fee;

b. Daily care fee;

c. License and rabies vaccination fees, if required; and

d. Medical care fees, if required.

2. Impounded dogs may be sold.

3. When a dog is sold the purchaser shall pay any required license and rabies vaccination fees. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.110 License.

A. Every owner residing in the city of Junction City of a dog which has a set of permanent canine teeth or which has attained the age of six months, whichever event may occur first, shall procure a license for each dog for each calendar year, or any part thereof. Such license shall be procured not later than the date on which the dog becomes of age or within 30 days after it is first acquired by the owner or is brought into the city, and thereafter by January 30th of each year.

B. No license fee shall be required to be paid for a license for any dog owned by a blind person who uses it as a guide.

C. No license shall be issued without written proof of current vaccination.

D. Licenses are mandatory for all dogs that reside within the city limits. Dogs that reside outside the city limits may be licensed to aid in identification, but said licensing is not mandatory. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.120 License fees.

Dog license fees, which are due and payable upon the issuance of a license, and all other fees required to be paid pursuant to this chapter, shall be established by resolution of the city council. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.130 Dogs as public nuisance and dangerous dog.

A. It is a violation for any person to be the keeper of a dog which the person fails to prevent from being a public nuisance. A dog is a public nuisance if it:

1. Molests passersby;

2. Chases or attacks persons;

3. Attacks other animals;

4. Is in a park, cemetery, public or private school grounds, or public place if not under the control of its owner or keeper by a leash not to exceed eight feet in length;

5. Damages or destroys property of persons other than the owner or keeper of the dog;

6. Scatters garbage other than premises where from which the keeper of the dog may lawfully exclude others;

7. Chases vehicles;

8. Disturbs any person by making frequent or prolonged noises;

9. Trespasses on private property of persons other than the owner or keeper of the dog;

10. Is a female in heat and running at large;

11. Is a potentially dangerous dog, but is not a dangerous dog as defined in subsection (B) of this section; or

12. Is present at any event or place within the city that is clearly marked to exclude animals.

B. Maintaining Dangerous Dog.

1. A person commits the violation of maintaining a dangerous dog if the person is the keeper of a dog and the person fails to prevent the dog from engaging in an act described in the definition of “dangerous dog.”

2. Maintaining a dangerous dog is a violation of this chapter and punishable as described in JCMC 6.05.240. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.140 Duplicate license.

If a license tag is lost, the owner may secure a duplicate license tag upon satisfactory proof of loss and payment of the sum as provided for in JCMC 6.05.120. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.150 Display of license tag.

The license tag issued to the owner shall be attached securely to a collar or harness on the dog for which it was issued whenever the dog is not indoors or in an enclosed pen. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.160 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. Kennel operators shall meet city kennel standards, as required by resolution.

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 shall be issued under this section to anyone not in conformity with applicable zoning statutes, resolutions and ordinances. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.170 Barking dogs.

No person shall keep a dog on any premises in the city which, without provocation by any person, shall, by frequent and sustained barking, howling or yelping, disturb two or more persons separately domiciled in the immediate vicinity or, if there is only one dwelling in the immediate vicinity of the premises, shall disturb the person or persons residing in such dwelling, after having been notified personally or by mail by the department or the dog control authority that the dog had been reported to disturb such person or persons by such barking, howling or yelping. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.180 Vicious dogs prohibited.

A. No person shall own, keep, or harbor a vicious dog, except a watch dog. Any dog which has the propensity to attack or bite any person without provocation and the capacity to inflict serious harm on such person shall be regarded as vicious. Vicious dogs shall be impounded by an officer.

B. 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. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.190 Biting dogs to be reported.

A. The owner of a dog which bites a human being, domestic animal, or livestock shall immediately notify the department of such bite, giving the name and address of the person bitten, or the owner of the domestic animal or livestock bitten, if known to him.

B. Any person who is bitten by a dog, or the owner of the domestic animal or livestock bitten, shall forthwith notify the department of such bite, giving a description of the dog and the name and address of the owner, if known to him.

C. When a doctor, veterinarian or hospital employee has information that a person or domestic animal or livestock has been bitten by a dog, such person shall forthwith notify the department. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.200 Biting dogs.

No person shall keep a dog which, without provocation, has bitten a human being, domestic animal, or livestock on two occasions. Such a dog shall be impounded by an officer. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.210 Quarantine.

A. When either the Junction City health officer or department of health and sanitation of Lane County has grounds to suspect that a dog is infected with the disease of rabies, there shall be delivered to the owner of the dog a written notice thereof. The owner shall thereupon be required to quarantine the dog for 10 days. The biting of any person by the dog shall constitute adequate grounds for suspecting the dog to be so infected. The delivery of the notice to an adult residing upon the premises where the dog is kept shall be considered a delivery of the notice to the owner.

B. Any dog required to be quarantined shall be confined on the owner’s premises in such a manner as to prevent it from being in contact with any other animal or person or confined at the owner’s expense in a veterinary hospital, the Lane Humane Society, or a kennel approved by either the Junction City health officer or department of health and sanitation of Lane County.

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

D. If a dog exhibits symptoms of rabies while it is under quarantine, the Junction City health officer or director of public health of Lane County may order in writing that it be destroyed and that its head be submitted as directed to the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.220 Entry onto private land.

The officers in the course of their duties in enforcing this chapter shall have the privilege of entering onto private land, but shall not enter into any building or dwelling without permission or authorization. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.230 Enforcement authority.

Officers of the department appointed by the city are hereby empowered to enforce the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]

6.05.240 Penalties.

A person violating the provisions of this chapter or an order issued under authority of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a violation. A sentence to pay a fine for a violation shall be an amount, fixed by the court, not to exceed $500.00. In addition to the fine set forth above, a person who violates the provisions of JCMC 6.05.160(A) by operating a kennel without the appropriate license or by failing to meet kennel standards, as required by resolution, may have his or her kennel license suspended or revoked. [Ord. 1245 § 1 (Exh. A), 2017.]