Chapter 6.02
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sections:
6.02.020 Liability for damages.
6.02.030 Responsibility for payment of costs and fees.
6.02.045 Disposal of animal carcasses.
6.02.010 Purpose.
It is the public policy of the city of Sequim to secure and maintain reasonable levels of animal control within the incorporated areas of the city. To this end, it is the purpose of this title to provide a means of controlling errant animal behavior so that it shall not become a public nuisance.
Nothing in this title shall be construed as creating any duty on the part of the city to protect human health and safety, injury to property, or prevent a nuisance.
It is also the policy of the city of Sequim to prevent the inhumane treatment of animals. Therefore, it is also the purpose of this title to provide for the humane use, care, and treatment of animals to the end that cruelty to such animals will be reduced or eliminated. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.015 Definitions.
In construing the provisions of this title, except where otherwise plainly declared or clearly apparent from the context, words used herein shall be given their common and ordinary meaning; in addition, the following definitions shall apply:
1. “Abandon” means to desert, leave behind, or quit providing for an animal.
2. “Abatement” means the termination of any violation by reasonable and lawful means determined by the animal control officer in order that a person or persons presumed to be the owner shall comply with this chapter.
3. “Abuse” means to mistreat or wrongfully use an animal.
4. “Adult dog or cat” means any dog or cat over the age of six months.
5. “Agent of the owner of livestock” means any person who rents pasture to the owner of livestock, or any tenant of any person who rents pasture to the owner of livestock, or any person who is the caretaker of the pasture or livestock.
6. “Ameliorate” means to make or become better; improve.
7. “Animal” means any domestic animal as defined in SMC 6.02.015(18), any inherently dangerous animal kept by any person as defined in SMC 6.02.015(29) and (30), and all livestock as defined in SMC 6.02.015(34).
8. “Animal control authority” means the city of Sequim acting alone or in concert with other local governmental units for enforcement of the animal control laws of the city and state and the shelter and welfare of animals.
9. “Animal control officer” means any individual employed, contracted or appointed by the animal control authority for the purpose of aiding in the enforcement of this title or any other law or ordinance relating to the licensing of animals, control of animals or seizure and impoundment of animals. Animal control officer includes any state or local law enforcement officer, deputy sheriff, or other employee whose duties in whole or in part include assignments which involve the enforcement of animal control laws. Animal control officer also includes those humane society employees authorized by the court, pursuant to RCW 16.52.011, to enforce animal control laws.
10. “Animal shelter” means a facility which is used to house or contain stray, homeless, abandoned or unwanted animals and which is owned, operated or maintained by a public body, an established humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or other nonprofit organization or person devoted to the welfare, protection and humane treatment of animals.
11. “Bite” means the act of the animal’s teeth seizing, penetrating human or animal skin or clothing.
12. “Canine” means a Canis familaris, bred in a great many varieties, and includes both male and female, and hereafter referred to as “dog.”
13. “Commercial kennel or cattery” means:
a. Any establishment, person, or business which takes in for resale or boarding another person’s dogs or cats.
b. Any establishment, person, or business which produces for sale more than three litters of cats or dogs per year.
14. “Committed” means a notice of civil infraction was issued, and the infraction was not dismissed by the court, and the court entered a default judgment for the infraction or determined that the infraction was committed, regardless of the filing of any appeal by the violator, or the violator fails to respond to a notice of civil infraction.
15. “Cruelty” means every act or failure to act which results in unnecessary physical pain or suffering to an animal.
16. “Director” means the chief of police or his/her designee.
17. “District court” means Sequim municipal court, which functions through the Clallam County District Court, Division 1.
18. “Domestic animal” means those domestic animals such as any dog, cat, rabbit, bird, or other such animal normally kept as a pet.
19. “Equestrian” means a person who is riding or leading any horse.
20. “Euthanasia” means the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death, or by a method that causes painless loss of consciousness and death during such loss of consciousness.
21. “Feline” means a Felis catus, bred in a great many varieties, and includes both male and female, and hereafter referred to as “cat.”
22. “Feral” means any wild animal or any animal having escaped from domestication and becoming wild.
23. “Harboring” means allowing any animal to remain, be lodged, fed, or sheltered on the property one owns, occupies or controls, for more than 24 hours.
24. “Harboring of an inherently dangerous mammal and/or inherently dangerous reptile” means to allow an inherently dangerous mammal or inherently dangerous reptile to remain, lodge, be fed, or to be given shelter or refuge within the person’s home, store, yard, enclosure, outbuilding, abandoned vehicle or building, place of business, or any other premises in which the person resides or over which the person has control.
25. “Horse” means a domesticated equine, bred in a great many varieties, and includes other animals such as mules and jackasses.
26. “Hours of darkness” means the hours from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, and any other time when persons or objects may not be clearly discernible at a distance of 200 feet.
27. “Humane trapping” means capturing any animal without causing intentional injury or death to the animal, and providing reasonable protection and care for the animal until it is delivered to a shelter or turned over to the animal control officer or owner.
28. “Infraction” means an offense which is not a crime and is subject to the provisions of this chapter.
29. “Inherently dangerous mammal” means any live member of the canidae, felidae, or ursidae families, including hybrids thereof, which, due to their inherent nature, may be considered dangerous to humans, and which includes:
a. Canidae, including any member of the dog (canid) family not customarily domesticated by man, or any hybrids thereof, such as wolf hybrids, but not including domestic dogs (Canis familiaris).
b. Felidae, including any member of the cat family not customarily domesticated by man, or any hybrids thereof, but not including domestic cats (Felis catus).
c. Ursidae, including any member of the bear family, or any hybrids thereof.
30. “Inherently dangerous reptile” means any live member of the class reptilia which:
a. Is venomous, including, but not necessarily limited to, all members of the following families: Helodemidae (beaded lizards – gila monster, Mexican beaded lizard),
Viperidae (vipers and adders), Crotalidae (pit vipers), Altractaspididae (mole vipers), Hydrophilidae (sea snakes), and Elapidae (cobras); or
b. Is a “rear fanged” snake of the family Colobridae (rear fanged snakes) that are known to be dangerous to humans, including, but not necessarily limited to, all members of the following families: Dispholidus typous (boomslang snake), Thebtornis kirtlandii (twig snake), and Rhabdophis spp. (speckled belly keelback and red-necked keelback); or
c. Is a member of the order Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators and caimans).
31. “Lawful fence,” in addition to the description of lawful fence described in the Revised Code of Washington, shall mean any fence or physical barrier with the capability of safely holding/restraining the animal(s) being secured within.
32. “Leash” means a chain, rope, leather strip, nylon strip, or other device no longer than 20 feet that is in good condition and capable of holding/restraining the animal to which it is attached.
33. “Leash control” means a dog is on a leash and under human control.
34. “Livestock” means horses, mules, jackasses, cattle, sheep, llamas, goats, swine, poultry and rabbits.
35. “Microchip” means a commercially sold and nationally recognized, and registered with the city or Clallam County, small, magnetic device commonly inserted under the skin of an animal and which contains a magnetic or electronic animal identification number.
36. “Neglect” means the act of leaving an animal without food, water, or care in a situation where the conditions present an immediate, direct, and serious threat to the life, safety, or health of the animal.
37. “Notice of violation” means a verbal warning, or a written warning, or a civil notice of infraction.
38. “Notification” means the service of a notice on the animal’s owner, any resident of the owner’s residence, or the mailing of the notice by certified and regular mail.
39. “Owner” means any person, firm, corporation, organization, or department possessing, harboring, keeping, having interest in, or having control or custody of an animal. Owner also means any person, firm, corporation, organization or department having interest in or having control or custody of property.
40. “Poultry” means chickens, turkeys, ratites, and other domesticated fowl.
41. “Premises” means any house, dwelling unit, or building and the curtilage surrounding it.
42. “Private kennel or cattery” means any establishment, person, or business having more than 10 adult dogs, 10 adult cats, or a combination thereof, and producing no more than three litters of dogs or cats for sale per year.
43. “Proper enclosure of a dangerous dog” means while on the owner’s property a dangerous dog shall be securely confined indoors or in a securely enclosed and locked pen or structure, suitable to prevent the entry of young children and designed to prevent the animal from escaping. Such pen or structure shall have secure sides and a secure top, and shall also provide protection from the elements for the dog.
44. “Public roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic.
45. “Quarantine” means the placing and restraining of any animal by agents in charge thereof, within a certain described and designated enclosure or area within the county, as may be directed by the animal control officer.
46. “Rabies vaccination certificate” means a rabies vaccination certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian. The certificate shall be signed by the veterinarian and shall indicate the expiration date of the vaccination and the type of vaccine used.
47. “Ratite” means ostrich, emu, rhea, or other flightless bird.
48. “RCW” means Revised Code of Washington.
49. “Responsive to voice control” means immediately responsive to the owner by voice or other signal.
50. “Right-of-way” means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
51. “Running at large” means to be off the premises of the owner and not under the control of the owner or competent person authorized by the owner.
52. “Running in packs” means a group of three or more dogs running upon either public or private property not that of its owner in a state in which either its control or ownership is in doubt or cannot readily be ascertained, and when such dogs are not restrained or controlled.
53. “Severe injury” means any physical injury that results in broken bones or disfiguring lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery, or multiple bites to a human.
54. “Shelter officer” means any individual employed by a shelter for the purpose of controlling and providing care for impounded and surrendered animals or destroying animals by euthanasia.
55. “Under control” means the animal is under leash control so as to be thereby restrained from approaching any other person, other animal, or entering upon the property of another and from causing or being the cause of physical injury or property damage; provided, that dogs under proper supervision engaged in agricultural activities, or dogs used by law enforcement agencies, or any animal when otherwise safely and securely confined or completely controlled within or upon any vehicle, are considered under control.
56. “Vehicle” means every device, including bicycles, capable of being moved upon a public or private roadway and in, upon, or by which any person may be transported.
57. “Working dog” means any dog which is trained to be used for the control, protection or herding of livestock for farming purposes and which is so engaged and behaving according to its training.
58. “Zoonotic” means a disease communicable under natural conditions from animals to humans. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.020 Liability for damages.
The owner of any animal in violation of this title shall be liable to the owner of any animal killed or injured, any property damaged, or to any person injured by such animal for the amount of damages sustained and costs of collection, to be recovered in a civil action; except, that this section is not intended to place liability on the owner of any animal if the injury or damages were sustained by a person who at the time was committing a willful trespass or other tort upon the premises occupied by the owner of the animal, or was tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the animal, or was committing or attempting to commit a crime. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.030 Responsibility for payment of costs and fees.
It is the responsibility of the owner of every animal treated, impounded, and/or destroyed under this title to pay the costs of treatment, transportation, housing, impoundment, euthanasia and fees for such animal. Abandonment of the animal does not relieve the owner of such responsibility.
It is unlawful for the owner of animals treated, impounded, and/or adopted pursuant to the provisions of this title to fail to or refuse to pay the impound fees; transportation, boarding, veterinary care, licensing, adoption, euthanasia costs; or other required fees or costs as set forth in the title. (Ord. 2001-014 § 2; Ord. 99-007)
6.02.040 Animal shelter.
A. There shall be one or more animal shelters within the county for detaining animals surrendered to or apprehended by the animal control officer.
B. The animal shelter shall have facilities for housing animals that are injured or ill, or possibly contagious with infectious disease; facilities for housing dogs and cats under quarantine; and facilities for the humane destruction of animals by euthanasia.
C. The animal control authority shall operate said shelter(s), or contract with a public or private or nonprofit organization, for shelter services.
D. Shelter officers employed by the designated shelter shall have the authority to collect license fees as set forth in SMC 6.16.010, and impound fees and costs as set forth in SMC 6.16.030.
E. No animal at the shelter shall be used, sold, loaned or given away for medical or research purposes whether the animal is dead or alive. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.045 Disposal of animal carcasses.
It shall be unlawful to dispose of or dump dead animals, animal carcasses, or animal parts on public property or private property other than one’s own, without the permission of the owner. It shall be unlawful for a commercial establishment charging for the disposal of animals to dispose of animals by dumping or burying without proper permits. Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.050 Agreements.
The city council of the city of Sequim may enter into agreements with any veterinarian, governmental agency, city, corporation or individual it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of the title. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.060 Severability.
If any portion of this title is held invalid, it is the intent of the city council of the city of Sequim that such part shall be deemed severable and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining parts of this title. (Ord. 99-007)
6.02.070 Effective date.
This title shall take effect 10 days after adoption; except, that the mandatory licensing requirements contained in SMC 6.04.015 shall take effect on July 1, 1999. (Ord. 99-007)