A. 
The owner of any animal shall have the animal vaccinated not earlier than three months of age nor later than four months of age and at regular intervals thereafter as prescribed by the regulations made by the most current compendium of animal rabies control. No dog, cat or ferret shall be permitted within the Town limits unless such dog, cat or ferret shall have been vaccinated or inoculated in the manner set forth in this chapter.
B. 
Any animal vaccinated prior to one year of age, or receiving the primary vaccination at any age, shall be given a booster rabies vaccination one year after then at intervals not to exceed every three years thereafter. All ferrets shall be vaccinated against rabies at yearly intervals.
C. 
The vaccination or immunization required by this section shall be by a vaccine approved by the State Department of Health or the Rabies Control Board and shall be certified by a licensed veterinarian. Such certificate shall meet the minimum standards approved by the Rabies Control Board, which shall include the following: the veterinarian's name, practice name, address and telephone number; the pet's name, species, sex, coloration and age; the rabies vaccine manufacturer's name; the date of inoculation, the rabies tag number, and whether the vaccine given is the one-year vaccine or the three-year vaccine; and the signature of the veterinarian who administered or directed the administration of the rabies vaccine. For dogs and cats, there shall be records kept which list the number of the rabies tag issued in conjunction with the rabies vaccination certificate, together with such other information as may reasonably be required by the State Director of Health or the veterinarian administering the vaccine.
A. 
Every animal that bites a person shall be promptly reported to the Animal Control Officer and shall thereupon be securely quarantined at the direction of the Animal Control Officer for a period of 10 days. The animal shall not be released from such quarantine except by written permission of the Animal Control Officer. Quarantine may be carried out pursuant to Rhode Island Rabies Protocol as established by the Rhode Island Rabies Control Board. In the case of stray animals or animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the pound. If the owner is later located, the owner is responsible for all expenses incurred by the animal.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
The owner, upon demand by the Animal Control Officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human or which is suspected of having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, the expense of which shall be borne by the owner. Such animal may be reclaimed by the owner if it is determined to be free of rabies, upon payment of the same fees as are prescribed in § 138-35, Violations and penalties.
No person shall fail or refuse to surrender any animal for quarantine or destruction as required in this chapter when demand is made therefor by the Animal Control Officer.
It shall be the duty of every licensed veterinarian to report to the Animal Control Officer any animal considered by him/her to be a rabies suspect.
When rabies has been diagnosed in an animal under quarantine, or when rabies is suspected in such an animal by a licensed veterinarian, and the animal dies while under such observation, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately send the head of such animal to the State Department of Health for pathological examination, and shall notify the proper public health officials of reports of human contacts and the diagnosis.
The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the Animal Control Officer.
No person shall kill or cause to be killed any rabid animal, any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting a human, except as provided in this article, nor remove such an animal from the Town limits without written permission from the Animal Control Officer.
The Animal Control Officer shall direct the disposition of any animal found to be infected with rabies.
Any dog, cat or domestic animal that is bitten by a known rabid animal shall be immediately destroyed or, if the owner is unwilling to destroy the dog, it shall be quarantined in a state-approved kennel/facility/pound for six months. If such dog, cat or domestic animal has previously been vaccinated within the time limits established by the State Director of Health based on the kind of vaccine used, revaccination and restraint by leashing and strict confinement for 45 days shall be carried out in lieu of the six-month quarantine.
A. 
When any report made pursuant to this chapter indicates a positive diagnosis of rabies, the Animal Control Officer shall recommend an area-wide quarantine for a period of 90 days and, upon invoking of such emergency quarantine, no animal may be taken or shipped from the Town without written permission of the Animal Control Officer.
B. 
During the quarantine period provided for in Subsection A of this section, and as long afterward as he/she decides it is necessary to prevent the spread of rabies, the Animal Control Officer shall require all dogs/domestic animals three months of age and older to be vaccinated against rabies with a rabies vaccine approved by the Biologics Control Section of the United States Department of Agriculture. The type of approved anti-rabies vaccine to be used and the recognized duration of immunity for each shall be established by the State Director of Health. All vaccinated dogs/domestic animals shall be restricted by leashing and confinement on enclosed premises for 45 days after vaccination. During the quarantine period, the State Director of Health shall be empowered to provide for a program of mass immunization by the establishment of temporary emergency canine/domestic animal rabies vaccination clinics strategically located throughout the Town.
C. 
No animal which has been impounded by reason of its being a stray or unclaimed by its owner shall be allowed to be claimed during the period of a rabies emergency quarantine invoked under this section except by special authorization of the State Director of Health and the Animal Control Officer.
D. 
If there are additional positive cases of rabies occurring during the period of a quarantine invoked under this section, such quarantine may be extended for an additional six months.