For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
A dog, cat, or any other animal which has been deserted by its owner, to wit, such animal has been left at an unoccupied residence, has no food nor water provided, roams at large and is not tagged nor licensed.
An animal organism other than a human being.
The animal control office of the city.
Any person designated by the city as an officer who is authorized to perform animal control duties under the laws of the city.
Any pet shop, grooming shop, animal auction, performing animal exhibition, kennel, or animal shelter, except this term shall not include veterinary medical facilities, licensed research facilities, facilities operated by government agencies, or licensed animal dealers regulated by the USDA under the provisions of U.S. Public Laws 89544 and 92579.
Any facility designated or recognized by the city for the purpose of impounding and caring for animals held under the authority of this chapter and state law.
Off the premises of the owner and not under the complete control, either by leash, cord, chain, or effective verbal command, of the owner, who is then physically present with the animal; or on the premises of the owner and not within the direct, constant, and immediate presence of a person having effective verbal command of the animal, or otherwise confined to said premises by means of a leash, cord, chain, or enclosure.
All members of the feline family of either sex, including one neutered or sterilized.
Tortured, seriously overworked, unreasonably abandoned, unreasonably deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, cruelly confined, or caused to fight with another animal.
A dog that:
Makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog is being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own; or
Commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own and those acts cause a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause bodily injury to that person.
All members of the canine family of either sex, including one neutered or sterilized.
Any bird of any kind.
The act of keeping or caring for an animal or of providing premises to which the animal returns for food, shelter, or care for a period of three days or more.
Care of an animal, including but not limited to adequate heat, ventilation, and sanitary shelter, wholesome food and water, consistent with the normal requirements and feeding habits of the animal’s size, species, and breed.
An establishment kept for the purpose of breeding, selling, or boarding dogs or cats or engaged in training dogs or cats.
A person licensed to practice veterinary medicine by the state board of veterinary medical examiners.
Any horse, mule, jack, jenny, cow, cattle, sheep, goat, rabbit, or pig or hog.
The surgical removal of the reproductive organs of a dog or cat to render the animal unable to reproduce.
A person who is legally competent to enter into a binding contract and who is adopting a dog or cat from a releasing agency.
A dog or cat, or other animal, either licensed or unlicensed, which:
Molests passersby;
Chases passing vehicles;
Is not vaccinated against rabies as required by this chapter;
Is repeatedly at large;
Turns over garbage containers;
Barks, whines, or howls in an excessive, loud, continuous fashion so as to unreasonably disturb nearby persons;
Howls, growls, or hisses in an excessive, loud, continuous fashion so as to unreasonably disturb nearby persons;
Damages, soils, defiles, or defecates on private property other than the owner’s or on public walks and recreation areas unless such waste is immediately removed and properly disposed of by the owner;
Causes unsanitary, dangerous, or offensive conditions:
Molests, attacks, or interferes with persons or other domestic animals; or
Is without an owner.
A person, firm, partnership, company, association, or corporation who has, harbors, keeps or causes or permits to be harbored or kept, or has in his care, or who permits a dog, cat, or other animal on or about his premises for a period of three days or longer.
Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization, or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or company conducting business at a properly zoned location therefor, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise other than a kennel, that engages in the business of buying or selling at retail dogs or cats or other animals for profit-making purposes.
Domesticated birds that are normally kept for eggs or meat. “Poultry” includes, but is not limited to, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, and guineas.
Any object of value that a person may lawfully acquire and hold; that which may be owned, as land, a residence, a vehicle, an animal, and the like.
Strict confinement of an animal specified in an order of the city council or its designee:
An acute viral disease of man and animal affecting the nervous system and usually transmitted by an animal bite.
A public or private animal pound, shelter, or humane organization.
A house, apartment, room, or duplex inhabited as the principal dwelling place of a person or persons.
A structure or building designed, constructed, or converted for use as a residence.
A fenced area or structure that is:
Locked;
Capable of preventing the entry of the general public, including children;
Capable of preventing the escape or release of a dog;
Clearly marked as containing a dangerous dog; and
In conformance with the requirements for enclosures established by the local animal control authority.
Roaming with no physical restraint beyond the premises of an animal owner or keeper.
Any device placed by an animal control officer, employed or used in the capture of animals, which is not under the constant supervision of an officer and which functions in such a manner as to confine any animal entering same.
An injection of vaccine which has been approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Includes any animal, wild or domestic, which demonstrates a propensity toward the unprovoked biting or attacking of animals or humans, or which demonstrates a disposition toward savagery or ferociousness toward animals or humans or which represents a physical threat to animals or humans.
Any nondomestic animal normally found in a natural habitat.
(1997 Code, sec. 90.001; Ordinance adopting Code)