Every owner of a dog or cat four months of age or older shall have such animal vaccinated against rabies. All such dogs or cats shall be revaccinated at appropriate intervals according to state law and the type of vaccination series administered to the animal and then at three-year intervals thereafter. Any person establishing residence within the city shall comply with this chapter within ten days of establishing such residency. If the dog or cat has inflicted a bite on any person within the last ten days, the owner of such dog or cat shall report such fact to a veterinarian, and no rabies vaccine shall be administered until after a ten-day observation.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-67; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
Upon vaccination, the veterinarian shall execute and furnish to the owner of the dog or cat as evidence thereof a certificate upon a form furnished by the veterinarian. The veterinarian shall retain a duplicate copy. Such certificate shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name, address, and telephone number of the owner of the vaccinated dog or cat;
(2) 
Animal identification: species, sex (including sterilization if possible), approximate age, size (pounds), predominant breed, and colors;
(3) 
The date of vaccination;
(4) 
The year and number of the rabies tag; and
(5) 
The veterinarian’s address, signature or signature stamp, and license number.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-68; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
Concurrent with the issuance and delivery of the certificate of vaccination, the owner of the dog or cat shall cause to be attached to the collar or harness of the vaccinated dog or cat a metal tag, serially numbered to correspond with the vaccination certificate number, bearing the year of issuance and the name of the veterinarian and his address. The owner shall cause the collar or harness with the attached metal tag to be worn by the owner’s dog or cat at all times.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-69; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
In the event of loss or destruction of the original tag provided, the owner of the dog or cat shall obtain a duplicate tag. Vaccination certificates shall be valid only for the animal for which they were originally issued.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-70; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
It shall be unlawful for any person who owns or harbors a vaccinated dog or cat to fail or refuse to exhibit a copy of the certificate of vaccination upon demand to any person charged with the enforcement of this chapter.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-71; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
It shall be unlawful for any person to harbor any dog or cat which has not been vaccinated against rabies, as provided in this article, or which cannot be identified as having a current vaccination certificate.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-72; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
(a) 
Any person having knowledge of the existence of any animal known to have been, or suspected of being, exposed to rabies must immediately report such knowledge to the animal control division, giving any information that may be required.
(b) 
For any animal known to have been, or suspected of being, exposed to rabies, the following rules shall apply:
(1) 
Animals having a current vaccination must be revaccinated immediately and confined at the animal shelter, by a licensed veterinarian, or if approved by an animal control officer, home quarantine for a period of not less than 45 days.
(2) 
Animals not having a current vaccination should be humanely destroyed. However, if the owner of such an animal elects, the animal may be confined at the animal shelter or by a licensed veterinarian. Home quarantine will only be allowed if approved by an animal control officer and the owner complies with all requirements of this chapter, including without limitation section 4.06.010, as amended. Such animal must be vaccinated immediately following exposure and confined for not less than 90 days. A revaccination shall be administered on the third and eighth week prior to release from confinement.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-73; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09; Ordinance 16-08-1015, sec. 2.17, adopted 8/16/16)
Should a potential outbreak of rabies within the city be suspected and the danger to the public safety from rabid animals be reasonably imminent, the local rabies authority is hereby authorized to issue a quarantine proclamation, ordering persons owning, keeping, or harboring dogs or other animals to muzzle the same or confine them in such quarantine proclamation by local newspaper and/or website or other medium. Owners of such animals shall confine the animals to premises owned, leased or controlled by the owner unless the animals are effectively muzzled and under the control of an adult person by leash, cord, chain, or rope and complying with all requirements of this chapter. Animals found at-large in violation of this section may be destroyed by an animal control officer or police officer of the city if such officer is unable, with reasonable effort, to apprehend such animal for impoundment.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-74; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09; Ordinance 16-08-1015, sec. 2.18, adopted 8/16/16)
(a) 
Every physician or other medical practitioner who treats a person for any animal bite, or any person having knowledge of an animal bite, shall, within 24 hours, report such treatment to the animal control division giving the name, age, sex, and precise location of the bitten person and such other information as the officer or agency may require.
(b) 
The animal control division will investigate each bite incident, utilizing standardized reporting forms provided by the department of state health services.
(c) 
Human bites from rodents, rabbits, birds, and reptiles are excluded from the reporting requirements.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-75; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)
(a) 
The local rabies authority may order the quarantine of any animal that has bitten a person or another animal or that is suspected of having a zoonotic disease.
(b) 
Any owned dog or cat which has bitten a person shall be observed for a period of ten days from the date of the bite. The procedure and place of observation shall be designated by the investigating officer or responsible agency, in compliance with state law. If the dog or cat is not confined on the owner’s premises, confinement shall be by impoundment at the animal shelter, or at a veterinary hospital of the owner’s choice. Such confinement shall be at the owner’s expense. Stray dogs and cats, or those animals whose owners cannot be located, shall be quarantined at the animal shelter for a period of ten days. The owner of any dog or cat that has been reported to have inflicted a bite on any person shall on demand produce such dog or cat for impoundment, as prescribed in this article. Refusal to produce such dog or cat constitutes a violation of this section, and each day of such refusal shall constitute a separate and individual violation.
(c) 
Home quarantine.
An owner of a dog or cat that has bitten may request permission from an animal control officer to home quarantine his animal if the following criteria can be met:
(1) 
Secure facilities must be available at the home of the animal’s owner and must be approved by an animal control officer.
(2) 
The animal is currently vaccinated against rabies.
(3) 
The animal was not running at large at the time the bite occurred.
(4) 
An animal control officer or a licensed veterinarian must observe the animal at least on the first and last days of the quarantine period. If the animal becomes ill during the observation period, an animal control officer must be notified by the person having possession of the animal. At the end of the observation period the release from quarantine must be accomplished in writing.
(5) 
If the animal cannot be maintained in a secured quarantine, it shall be humanely destroyed and the brain submitted to a department of state health services certified laboratory for rabies diagnosis.
(d) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to interrupt the ten-day observation period.
(e) 
No wild animal will be placed in quarantine. All wild animals or hybrids thereof involved in biting incidents will be humanely euthanized in such a manner that the brain shall be submitted to a department of state health services certified laboratory for rabies testing.
(f) 
The owner of an animal that is quarantined under this article shall pay to the animal shelter the reasonable costs of the quarantine, care, treatment, and disposition of the animal, and an animal control officer shall be authorized to humanely euthanize any animal that the owner or custodian does not take possession of on or before the third day following the final day of quarantine.
(2006 Code, sec. 14-76; Ordinance 09-02-786, sec. 2, adopted 2/16/09)