It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of any animal
to fail or refuse to provide such animal with sufficient wholesome
and nutritious food, potable water, sanitary shelter, and veterinary
care when needed to prevent suffering, and with humane care and treatment,
or to unnecessarily expose any such animal to extreme or inclement
weather. In case of dispute over adequacy of proper care, the city
will be the final authority.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.201)
No owner or custodian of any animal shall willfully abandon
such animal on any street, road, highway or public place, or on private
property when not in the care of another person.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.202)
Any animal left without proper food, water, or shelter for more
than three days or any animal left in conditions which endanger the
health, life, and safety of the animal shall be considered abandoned.
Animal services shall take any abandoned animal into protective custody
for a reasonable time in order to determine whether ownership can
be established and possible prosecution of persons or parties responsible.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.203)
It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully or maliciously
strike, beat, abuse, torment, overload, overwork, trap with steel
jaw traps or intentionally run down with a vehicle any animal, or
otherwise engage in any act or omission which causes or inflicts unnecessary
pain, injury, suffering or death to such animal.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.204)
It shall be unlawful to cause, instigate, or permit any dogfight,
cockfight, bullfight, or other combat between animals or between animals
and humans.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.205)
No person, except city animal control officers or a licensed
veterinarian for humanitarian purposes, shall administer poison to
any animal, or knowingly leave any poisonous substance of any kind
or ground glass in any place with the intent to injure any animal.
The provisions of this section are not applicable to licensed exterminators
using poisons as part of a pest control program or the use of commercial
insecticides and rodent baits used to control insects and wild rodents.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.206)
No dog or other animal shall be left completely enclosed in
a parked vehicle in such a way as to subject the animal to extreme
temperatures that could adversely affect the animal’s health,
safety, or welfare. Any animal service officer, police officer or
personnel of the fire department may use reasonable force to remove
the animal from the vehicle if the person believes that an emergency
situation exists.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.207)
Any person eleven (11) years of age or more who shall willfully
kill or injure any wild bird, remove the eggs or young from the nest
of a wild bird, or in any manner destroy the eggs or young of a wild
bird, save and except the pigeon, English sparrow, grackles and blackbirds,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.208)
It shall be unlawful to keep, shelter or enclose any dog or
cat within any residential building which is not occupied as a residence
by a person.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.209)
The driver of any vehicle which collides with or strikes any
domesticated animal shall stop such vehicle immediately at the scene
of such accident, or as close as possible without interfering with
traffic, render reasonable assistance to said animal and then and
there either locate and notify the owner of said animal or report
said accident and the injury to the police department. An injured
animal may be delivered to its owner, a veterinarian, an animal control
officer or the city animal facility. The provisions of this section
shall not apply to an emergency vehicle or to a driver taking an ill
or injured person to medical care, nor shall it require assistance
to an animal if providing such assistance would place any person in
danger from the animal or traffic.
(1998 Code, sec. 2.210)
