[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 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.
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.
