Contra Costa County Municipal Code Ch. 416-8 Impoundment

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all animals, including dogs and cats, that are abandoned, found at large, taken into custody by the animal services director, or otherwise found to be in violation of Division 416 of this code, will be taken up and impounded, and are subject to destruction by humane injection.

(b) A person who finds a stray domestic animal at large, whose owner is unknown or cannot be immediately contacted, may temporarily retain and care for that animal. Within eight hours after finding the animal, or as soon as the animal services department opens for business if the department is closed when the animal is found, the person retaining the animal must: (A) notify the animal services department that they have the animal in their possession; (B) provide to the department a description and photograph of the animal; (C) have the animal scanned for a microchip; and (D) state their name, where the animal was found, and where the animal will be held until its owner is located.

(c) The finder of an at-large animal is obligated to provide the animal humane treatment.

(d) When the owner of a found animal is located, the person holding the animal shall either immediately surrender the animal to the animal services department for impoundment or return the animal to the owner. The finder shall not charge the owner for compensation except to recover a reasonable charge for saving and taking care of the animal as permitted by Civil Code Section 2080. If no owner is located within 30 days, or the owner does not claim the animal within the time provided in Section 416-8.006, then the finder may claim ownership of the animal or provide the animal for adoption by a new owner.

(Ord. No. 2021-13, § III, 4-27-21; Ord. 80-97 § 2).

The animal services director shall not impound any animal (including fowl) not otherwise in violation of Division 416, staked or tied for grazing on private property or any fowl at large on private property except on the complaint of the owner or occupant of the property, or of any other property, if the complainant claims injury.

(Ord. No. 2024-23, § III(Exh. A), 12-3-24; Ord. 80-97 § 2).

(a) Impounded animals shall be kept at a facility of or authorized by the animal services department for the time required by the Food and Agriculture Code, including Sections 31128, 31752, and 31753, except for rabies control purposes and as follows:

(1) Impounded stray dogs or cats with valid licenses shall be held 10 days after written notice is mailed or otherwise given to the owner, if the owner is identified.

(2) Impounded stray horses, mules or burros shall be held for five days. These animals, if unclaimed after that period, shall be disposed of in such a manner as the board of supervisors specifies by resolution. Bovines shall be delivered to a state inspector as provided in Food and Agriculture Section 17061.

(b) An animal found at large and retained under Section 416-8.002(c) shall not be deemed impounded unless the finder has delivered the animal to the animal services department.

(c) If the owner of an impounded animal, other than a dog or cat with a valid license, is identified, the animal services department will notify the owner by telephone or mail within two days after the animal is identified and will hold the animal for at least five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays when the animal services department is closed) after notice is mailed or otherwise given.

(d) If the finder of an at large animal, as provided in Section 416-8.002(c), identifies the animal's owner, then the finder shall either: (A) notify the owner of the animal's location within two days after identifying the owner; or (B) notify the animal services department of the owner's identification, and the department shall then notify the owner.

(e) The animal services director may dispose of an animal unclaimed after the holding period expires by humanely destroying the animal by injection, transferring the animal to an animal-related nonprofit organization, or by placing the animal in an adoptive home. No live animal shall be released for teaching or experimental purposes.

(Ord. No. 2021-13 § IV, 4-27-21; Ord. 80-97 § 2).

The animal services director may, without waiting for the holding periods to elapse, cause any impounded animal to be destroyed when such an animal is severely injured, or infected with a dangerous or communicable disease, and only after reasonable efforts under the circumstances have been made to apprise the owner of such animal, if such owner can be reasonably identified, of the condition of the animal.

(Ord. 80-97 § 2).

(a) The owner of any impounded animal is liable for all accrued impoundment fees. The owner of any impounded animal may claim it from the animal services department before its destruction, sale, or other disposition, after obtaining all required licenses and permits and paying all accrued impoundment fees.

(b) If the owner claims that an animal was unlawfully impounded, the owner may request a hearing which shall be provided by the animal services director within three working days of such request. The animal services director shall hear the evidence and argument of the owner and make such further investigation as is deemed appropriate. The animal shall be released to the owner without payment of fees or penalties, except applicable to license or permit fees, if the animal services director concludes there is reasonable doubt as to the lawfulness of the impoundment. No fees shall be charged on account of continued impoundment after a hearing has been requested.

(Ord. 80-97 § 2).

Impoundment fees shall be established by resolution of the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors shall establish additional fees payable in the case of animals reclaimed for a second time within a twelve-month period and further additional fees payable in the case of animals reclaimed three or more times within a twenty- four month period. As to the additional fees, an owner is entitled upon request to a hearing as provided in Section 416-8.010(b).

(Ord. 80-97 § 2).

The refusal or failure of the owner of any animal to apply for all required licenses or permits, and to pay all applicable license, permit, and impoundment fees, within ten days after notice of impoundment is mailed to such owner's last known address or otherwise given to such owner, constitutes abandonment and relinquishment of the owner's rights to the county.

(Ord. 80-97 § 2).

(a) The department may put an impounded animal up for adoption if the animal services director finds that allowing the animal to be adopted is not contrary to law, department policy, or the public interest. A dog or cat may be adopted solely for the purpose of serving as a pet and only after the animal has been licensed, neutered or spayed, and vaccinated against rabies.

(b) If the owner of a found animal is not located, and the finder of the animal, as provided in Section 416-8.002(c), is an animal-related nonprofit organization that identifies a person willing to adopt the animal, then the finder must provide all appropriate vaccinations to the animal, implant a microchip in the animal, spay or neuter the animal, and provide license information to the new owner at the time of adoption. The finder may pass along the costs incurred for these procedures to the new owner.

(c) Fees for the adoption of animals from the animal services department will be established by resolution of the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. 2021-13 § V, 4-27-21; Ord. 80-97 § 2).

(a) Unlicensed Dogs. Any unlicensed, unaltered dog impounded under Section 416-8.002 must be spayed or neutered prior to its release from the animal services department unless the dog is exempted from the license requirements under subsection (a) of Section 416-6.004 or has a medical exemption under subsection (d) of this section.

(b) Licensed Dogs—First Impoundment Within a Three-Year Period. Any licensed, unaltered dog impounded under Section 416-8.002 will be released intact from the animal services department on the first occasion the dog is impounded within a three-year period.

(c) Licensed Dogs—Second Impoundment Within a Three-Year Period. Any licensed, unaltered dog impounded under Section 416-8.002 a second time within a three-year period must be spayed or neutered prior to the dog's release from the animal services department unless the dog has a medical exemption under subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Medical Exemption. The animal services department will release intact any unaltered dog impounded under Section 416-8.002 that cannot be spayed or neutered due to a medical condition that is confirmed by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the state of California. Before releasing the dog, the animal services department will issue the dog's owner a written notice requiring the owner to spay or neuter the dog and provide proof of correction within two months of the date of the notice. The animal services department may extend the two-month correction period if, based on the opinion of a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the state of California, the medical condition continues to prevent the dog from being spayed or neutered. The dog's owner shall be responsible for paying the costs of any medical examinations rendered pursuant to this section.

(Ord. No. 2011-08, § II, 5-17-11)

(a) Microchip Identification Required at Time of Release. All dogs and cats impounded under Section 416-8.002 must be implanted with microchip identification before being released from impoundment to their owners.

(b) The animal services department will perform the microchip implantation procedure, at the owner's expense, on any dog or cat that does not already have microchip identification before the dog or cat is released from impoundment to its owner.

(c) Microchip Implantation Fee. The fee for a microchip implantation procedure performed under subsection (b) will be the microchip fee amount listed in the animal services department's fee schedule.

(Ord. No. 2011-09, § II, 5-17-11)