§ 4-8. Potentially dangerous animals.

(a)

The animal control officer or law enforcement officials shall have the power to summarily and immediately impound any animal where there is any evidence that the animal has chased or approached any person or domestic animal, on property other than the property of the owner, in a menacing fashion or with an apparent attitude of attack, including, but not limited to, behavior such as growling or snarling. The animal shall be kept at the county animal shelter or at a veterinarian designated by the owner at the owner's expense for quarantine pending determination of the animal's status as a potentially dangerous animal. The animal control officer or law enforcement officer may, in his discretion, allow the animal owner to impound said animal on said animal owner's property.

(b)

Upon impounding a potentially dangerous animal, the determination should be conducted within five days of serving notice to the owner by certified mail or personal service. If the owner fails to appear at the hearing, the hearing shall nevertheless proceed and an appropriate order may be issued. The magistrate shall determine whether to declare the animal to be a potentially dangerous animal based on the evidence of testimony presented at the hearing by the owner, witnesses to any incidences, and any other persons possessing information pertinent to such determination, such as veterinarians or dog obedience trainers. The magistrate shall issue written findings within five days after the hearing. The owner of such animal shall have the right to appeal such a decision to the court of common pleas of the county within ten days of receiving the decision of the magistrate.

(c)

Upon a finding that an animal is a potentially dangerous animal, the magistrate may order that the animal be forfeited by owner and placed with an agency willing to accept custody of said animal or may return said animal to the owner if the owner has and will comply with subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

(d)

The owner of a potentially dangerous animal shall secure and confine said potentially dangerous animal on the owner's property in an enclosed and locked (with a key or combination lock) pen or structure, suitable to prevent the animal from escaping said pen or structure. The pen or structure shall have secure sides and a secure top which protects the animal from the elements. Also, all sides must be embedded into the ground with no less than two feet unless the bottom is secured to the sides. The structure must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition and provide adequate light and ventilation. The enclosure shall not be less than five feet by ten feet and not less than six feet high.

(e)

No person owning or harboring or having care of a potentially dangerous animal may permit the animal to go beyond the person's premises unless the animal is securely muzzled and restrained with a leash or chain having a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds and not exceeding three feet in length.

(Ord. No. 2005-01, § 8, 2-1-2005)