[Adopted 5-18-1981 by Ord. No. 254-81]
The Borough Council may, from time to time, retain or hire a special officer or officers and provide same with the necessary equipment for the purpose of seizing, restraining and confining any pet found within the limits of the borough and contrary to the provisions of this article and may enter into a contract or contracts for the compensation of such special officer or officers, providing for a proper compensation to the same upon either a time basis or a unit basis, as the Borough Council may decide.
All pets more than six months of age found running at large within the borough shall be seized on sight by any borough policeman or other officer duly authorized for such purpose. 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 sold as house pets only or destroyed if not redeemed within three days of said notice. If the owner or custodian of such animal is unknown, a written notice of the impoundment of such animal shall be prominently displayed at the place of such impoundment, and such notice shall give the time of posting and contain a statement that such pet will be sold or redeemed within a period of three days after the day of such posting.
[Amended 6-22-2009 by Ord. No. 387-09]
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 $10 per day as costs for feeding and care and by paying the fine or penalty assessed for violation of this article.
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 and county highways) of the Borough of Lake City 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 AT LARGE
Running about of a dog, cat or other pet, 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 25-18, Barking and similar noises, was repealed 6-16-1986 by Ord. No. 269-86. See now Art. IV, Noisome Animals.
It is hereby declared that the depositing of offal waste by dogs or cats upon public or private property within the Borough of Lake City 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 Lake City 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 Lake City 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 deposit.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Lake City 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.
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 same by public or private sale to such person or persons as may desire to purchase same to the benefit of the Borough of Lake City. No pets caught and detained shall be sold for the purpose of vivisection.
It shall be unlawful from and after the effective date of this article for any pets, on leash or running loose, to be permitted in that part of premises which is used as a store for the sale of food for human consumption.
[Amended 6-22-2009 by Ord. No. 387-09]
In the event that any person shall violate any of the provisions of this article, said person, upon conviction before a Magistrate or District Justice, shall pay a fine not exceeding $50 for the first offense; $100 for the second offense; and $150 for the third and all subsequent offenses, together with the costs of prosecution and costs for the impoundment of the pets involved at $10 per day, per animal. 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; provided, however, that if it is such person's first offense and if the pet is redeemed within 24 hours of seizure, there shall be no fine.
The owner or manager of any store for the sale of food for human consumption in which any pet is caught or is willfully permitted shall, upon conviction thereof before any Magistrate or District Justice, be subject to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each offense.
The owner or custodian of any pet which is seized or permitted in the premises of a store for the sale of food for human consumption shall, upon conviction thereof before any Magistrate or District Justice, be subject to a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each such offense.