[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Girard as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-15-1981 by Ord. No. 524 (Ch. III, Part 1, of the
1974 Code of Ordinances)]
On and 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 nighttime, either upon the public streets and highways (including
state highways) of the Borough of Girard or upon the property of persons
other than the owner of such pet.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Running about loose on the street or upon property of persons
other than the owner 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.
In the event that a pet is found running at large within the
Borough of Girard, said pet may be seized on sight, either in the
daytime or at nighttime, by any Borough police officer or any other
agent of the Borough and impounded. In such event, the owner or custodian
of said pet, if known, shall be notified of such impoundment and shall
be given a period of three days to redeem said pet upon payment of
all costs assessed against such animal, including the cost of boarding
the pet during the period of the impoundment, and upon payment of
the penalty hereafter set forth for the violation of this article.
If the owner is not known, a notice shall be posted in the Borough
office.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Girard may, from time
to time, provide such places, means or methods and equipment as it
shall deem necessary for the purpose of keeping in custody any pet
seized under the provisions of this article, or, in its discretion,
it may provide such places, means or methods under the control and
management of any individual authorized for such purposes.
The owner or custodian of any pet seized and impounded under
the provisions of this article may, before the expiration of the three-day
period noted above, redeem such pet by paying all costs for feeding
and care and the penalty assessed against such animal and by paying
the fine or penalty assessed for violation of this article.
In the event that the owner or custodian of any pet seized and
held under the terms of this article shall not redeem such pet within
three days of the date of service of notice or posting of notice,
the Borough authorities, by their proper officer, shall have authority
to destroy said pet or to sell the same by public or private sale
to such person or persons as may desire to purchase the same to the
benefit of the Borough of Girard. No pets caught and detained shall
be sold for the purpose of vivisection.
It is hereby declared that the depositing of offal waste by
dogs or cats upon public or private property within the Borough of
Girard constitutes a health hazard and a danger to the general public,
including children that may be attracted to play in and around the
areas. It is therefore declared to be unlawful for the owner or person
in charge of a dog or cat to allow the animal to deposit offal waste
within the Borough of Girard without the owner or the custodian of
the dog or cat immediately removing the waste material and having
the same deposited in a recognized sanitary manner. The owner or person
in charge of said animal depositing waste within the Borough of Girard
shall cause the waste to be removed from the public or private property
immediately before allowing the animal to move from the general vicinity
of the waste disposal.
[Amended 11-16-1992 by Ord. No. 616]
It is hereby declared that the barking, howling, baying, yelping,
screeching, crying and other noisemaking by dogs, cats and other animals
which do so for a period in excess of 10 minutes or make such noise
intermittently for 20 minutes or more to the disturbance of any person
any time of the day or night, regardless of whether the animal or
bird is physically situated in or upon private property, is a nuisance,
provided that, at the time the animal or bird is making such noise,
no person is trespassing or threatening to trespass upon private property
in or upon which the animal or bird is situated, nor is there any
other legitimate cause which justifiably provoked the animal or bird.
[Amended 11-16-1992 by Ord. No. 616]
In the event that any person shall violate any of the provisions
of this article, said person, upon conviction before a Magisterial
District Judge, shall pay a fine not exceeding $25 for the first offense,
$50 for the second offense and $100 for the third and all subsequent
offenses, together with the costs of prosecution and proper charges
for the impoundment of the pets involved, not to exceed $25 per day,
as the case may be. In default of the payment of any fine and/or costs
imposed, said person shall be sentenced to the Erie County Jail for
a period not exceeding 10 days.
