[Adopted 12-29-1995 by Ord. No. 233]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any domestic animal or fowl, any wild animal or any household
pet.
Includes any Chartiers Township Police Officer or any person
duly appointed by the Chartiers Township Board of Supervisors as an
Animal Control Officer.
The genus and species known as Canis familiaris.
Any animal as hereinafter defined as a household pet, a large
animal, or a small animal.
The barking or other noise by a dog which, although intermittent,
is generally continuous and sustained over a period of 15 minutes
or more.
Any dog, cat, or other domestic animal normally and ordinarily
kept in or permitted to be at large in the dwelling of its owner.
Any domestic animal of the bovine, equine, sheep or hog family.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right of property in such dog, and every person who
keeps or harbors such a dog or has it in his care, and every person
who permits such dog to remain on or about any premises occupied by
him.
Includes any individual, corporation, partnership and or
company, singular words shall include the plural and masculine words
shall include the feminine and neuter.
Running about loose on the street, or upon property of persons
other than the owners of such pets, unleashed and unaccompanied by
the owner or custodian or by any member of his family or by any servant
or agent of the owner of such pets.
Any domestic animal such as a rabbit, hare, guinea pig, rat,
mouse, or chinchilla, and any domestic fowl such as a chicken, turkey,
goose, duck or pigeon.
Any animal, bird, fowl, or reptile not normally or ordinarily
domesticated; not normally or ordinarily raised in this area and climate
as livestock or for work or breeding purposes; not normally or ordinarily
kept as a household pet.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any wild animal at any place within the Township, except where the same shall be permitted under Chapter 350, Zoning, in a park, zoological garden, or similar establishment for exhibit to the public or to any portion thereof.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep
any domestic animals, except household pets, except as provided in
this section.
A.
Large animals shall be confined in quarters, no part
of which shall be closer than 200 feet from the exterior limits of
any dwelling or any property line.
B.
The keeper of every such domestic animal shall confine
the same in an enclosure sufficient to prevent such animal from running
at large, and such enclosure shall be of a size conducive to good
sanitation practices and adequate and sanitary drainage facilities
shall be provided.
C.
Every keeper of a domestic animal shall cause the
litter and droppings therefrom to be collected daily in a container
or receptacle of such type that, when closed, it shall be ratproof
and flytight and, after every such collection, shall cause such container
or receptacle to be kept closed. At least twice a week, every such
keeper shall cause all litter and droppings so collected to be disposed
of in such a manner as not to permit the presence of fly larva.
D.
Storage of manure or odor or dust-producing substances
shall not be permitted within 200 feet of any property line.
E.
Every keeper of a domestic animal shall cause all
feed provided therefor to be stored and kept in a ratproof and flytight
building box, container, or receptacle.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep
any household pet, except as provided in this section:
A.
If any such pet shall be kept in a dwelling owned
or occupied by its owner, such owner shall be required to follow such
procedures and practices as to sanitation to insure that no public
nuisance shall be created or maintained and no threat to the health
of persons living elsewhere than in such dwelling shall be created.
On or after the effective date of this article,
it shall be unlawful for any person or persons who are the owners
or custodians of any pet to permit any pet owned by him, her or them,
or under his, her or their supervision and control, to run at large
either in the day or at night upon the public streets and highways
(including state and county highways) of Chartiers Township or upon
the property of persons other than the owners of such pets.
All pets found running at large shall be seized
by any Township police officer or other officer duly authorized for
such purpose on sight. When such pet has been seized and impounded,
the owner or custodian, if known, shall be given notice by registered
mail or personal service that such pet has been seized and impounded
and will be given to the Humane Society, or destroyed, if not redeemed
within 10 days of said notice, at the discretion of the Animal Control
Officer.
The owner or custodian of any pet seized and impounded under the provisions of this article may, before the expiration of the ten-day period noted in § 107-9, redeem such pet by paying all costs for boarding, $6 per day, and penalty assessed against such animal and securing a valid license and tag for such pet where required by law, and by paying the fine or penalty assessed for violation of this article.
It shall be the duty of the owner or custodian
of any dog in Chartiers Township, more than three months old, excepting
dogs in commercial dog kennels, to have said dog inoculated against
rabies by a duly licensed veterinarian and to obtain from said veterinarian
a certificate to this effect. Thereafter, the owner or custodian of
any dog in Chartiers Township, excepting dogs in commercial kennels,
is hereby imposed with the duty of keeping his dog inoculated from
time to time so that it is continuously so immunized and with the
duty of possessing a certificate by a duly licensed veterinarian to
evidence the same.
The duly constituted representatives and police
officers of the Township shall have the right to require the owner
or custodian of any dog in the Township to produce such certificate,
and failure to do so shall subject the owner or custodian of said
dog to the penalties hereinafter provided.
The Board of Supervisors may designate or appoint
an Animal Control Officer and/or other special officer or agent and
provide them with the necessary equipment for the purpose of seizing,
restraining and confining any animal found running at large within
the limits of the Township, and the Township Board of Supervisors
may enter into such contracts for the compensation of such officers
as may be appropriate.
If the owner or custodian of a seized pet is
unknown, a written notice of the impoundment shall be posted on the
official Township bulletin boards and shall contain a statement that
such animal will be given to the Humane Society or destroyed if not
redeemed within five days after the date of such posting.
The Animal Control Officer, or the Chief of
Police or his agents of the Township of Chartiers, shall cause any
dog bearing a proper license tag or permanent identification and so
seized and detained to be properly kept and fed at any licensed kennel
approved for such purposes and shall cause immediate notice, by registered
or certified mail with return receipt requested, to the person in
whose name the license was procured, or his agent, to claim such dog
within five days after receipt thereof. The owner or claimant of a
dog so detained shall pay a penalty of $15 to the political subdivision
whose police officers made such seizures and detention and all reasonable
expenses incurred by reason of its detention to the detaining parties
before the dog is returned. If, five days after obtaining the postal
return receipt, such dog has not been claimed, such Chief of Police,
or his agent, shall dispense such dog by sale or by giving it to a
humane society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
No dog so caught and detained shall be sold for the purpose of vivisection,
or research, or be conveyed in any manner for these purposes. All
moneys derived from the sale of such dog, after deducting the expenses
of its detention, shall be paid through the Department of Agriculture
to the State Treasurer for credit to the Dog Law Restricted Account.
No person shall keep, or allow to be kept, any
animal which by causing frequent or long continued noise shall disturb
the comfort or repose of persons residing in the vicinity of where
the animal is kept.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil
enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial
District Judge, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs,
including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in
the enforcement of this article. No judgment shall be imposed until
the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial
District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the
judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable
Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute
a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of
the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including
injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
