[Amended 8-23-1993 by Ord. No. 4-93-0189]
A. 
No dog, cat or ferret over three months old shall be permitted within the Town limits unless such animal has been vaccinated or immunized against rabies. 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 two years thereafter. All ferrets shall be vaccinated against rabies at yearly intervals.
B. 
The vaccination or immunization required by this section shall be by a vaccine approved by the State Department of Health and shall be certified by a licensed veterinarian. Such certificate shall be dated as of the date of inoculation or vaccination and shall show the rabies tag number, the sex and breed of the dog, cat and ferret and the owner thereof, and whether the vaccine given is the one-year vaccine or the two-year vaccine, together with such other information as may reasonably be required by the State Director of Health or the Veterinarian administering the vaccine.
C. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor any dog, cat or ferret over three months old within the Town unless such animal has been vaccinated or inoculated in accordance with the provisions of this section.
It shall be the duty of every physician or other medical practitioner to report to the Animal Control Officer, at the Police Department, the names and addresses of persons treated for bites inflicted by animals, together with such other information as will be helpful in rabies control.
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to keep or cause to be kept accurate and detailed records of all bite cases reported to him and his investigation of such cases.
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 14 days. The animal shall not be released from such quarantine except by written permission of the Animal Control Officer. At the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, such quarantine may be on the premises of the owner or at the pound, or, at the owner's option and expense, in a veterinary hospital of his choice. In the case of stray animals or of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the pound.
B. 
The owner, upon demand by the Animal Control Officer, shall forthwith surrender any animal which has bitten a human or which is suspected as 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 § 97-21.
Any dog 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 strictly isolated in a kennel for six months. If such dog has been previously 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 confinement for 30 days shall be carried out in lieu of the six months' isolation.
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 or officer of reports of human contacts and the diagnosis.
A. 
When any report made pursuant to this article 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 shall be taken into the streets during such period of quarantine. During such 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 decides it is necessary to prevent the spread of rabies, the Animal Control Officer shall require all dogs three months of age and older to be vaccinated against rabies with a canine rabies vaccine approved by the Biologics Control Section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The types of approved canine antirabies vaccine to be used and the recognized duration of immunity for each shall be established by the State Director of Health. All vaccinated dogs shall be restricted by leashing or confinement on enclosed premises for 30 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 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 period of quarantine may be extended for an additional six months.