Exeter Municipal Code Ch. 6.16 Dangerous or Vicious Animals

This chapter is adopted and enforced as a local program for the control of potentially dangerous or vicious dogs as authorized by California Food and Agriculture Code, Section 31683.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

It is unlawful for a person to keep a dangerous/vicious animal as the term is defined in Section 6.04.010. Any animal which has been found to be dangerous or vicious pursuant to the ordinance code of the city, or of this county, or any other county or city pursuant to any state statute, shall be presumed to be dangerous or vicious.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

A. The animal control officer may determine an animal to be dangerous or vicious whenever the animal control officer has received evidence that the animal has attacked in an aggressive manner, bitten, or caused injury to any human or caused the death or serious injury of a domestic animal. Animal control officers shall consider the circumstances of the attack, bite, or injury, before determining whether an animal is dangerous or vicious. The investigating officer may determine that an animal is not dangerous or vicious if the animal was provoked prior to causing an injury or the circumstances indicate the animal was not acting in an aggressive manner when the injury occurred. If a person is injured or an animal is seriously injured or killed by an animal that was at large at the time of the incident the animal control officer may presume the animal that caused the injury is dangerous or vicious. Upon such declaration, the animal control officer shall have the authority to impound the animal pursuant to Chapter 6.24. If the owner or person responsible for the animal is known when it is impounded, then animal services shall provide the notice described in subsection B. below either before or after the animal is impounded. Notice may be sent by mail, personally delivered, or posted at the owner's residence. For the terms of this section the term "Serious injury" includes but is not limited to any physical injury caused by an animal attack that results in any of the following: puncture wounds; broken bones; loss of blood; or lacerations.

B. If the owner of the animal declared to be dangerous or vicious pursuant to subsection A. is not known when the animal is impounded but the animal is wearing a license tag or microchip, the animal control officer shall notify the licensed owner within two business days of impoundment that the animal has been declared dangerous or vicious. Notice to the owner may be sent by mail, personally delivered, or posted at the owner's residence. At the time of impoundment of an unlicensed dog declared to be dangerous or vicious under this section, if animal services knows who the owner of the dog is and the address of the owner, then animal services shall provide the owner the same notice to the owner with all of the items stated below. The notice shall also include the following:

1. A statement of the facts upon which the declaration was based;

2. Notification that the owner has a right to an administrative hearing to review the animal control officer's determination pursuant to Section 6.16.050;

3. Notification that, unless a request for an appeal before the hearing officer is received within ten business days of impoundment, the animal will be disposed of in a humane manner; and

4. A copy of the text of Municipal Code Chapter 6.16 and Chapter 6.24. No such notice is required if the animal is not wearing a license tag. The notice, if required by this section, shall be delivered to the animal's owner personally or posted in a conspicuous location at the owner's known address or the address provided in the license application.

C. The owner of an animal declared to be dangerous or vicious pursuant to subsection A. and impounded pursuant to Section 6.24.030 may, within ten business days of impoundment, request a hearing by the hearing officer to review the animal control officer's determination that the animal is dangerous or vicious, and pay the applicable hearing fee and advance deposit set by resolution of the city council, for the purposes of covering the administrative hearing costs and care and maintenance of the dog pending and during the hearing process. If no hearing is requested within this time period, then the poundmaster will destroy the animal in a humane manner.

D. When the owner of the animal requests a hearing, and pays the applicable hearing fee and deposit, the animal control officer shall consult with the hearing officer, set a date and time for such a hearing, and send a notice thereof by regular mail at least five business days before such date to the owner at the address set forth on his or her request. The owner seeking the hearing may request to have the hearing date rescheduled if they are not available at the scheduled date. The hearing may be rescheduled once or more at the discretion of the hearing officer. Requests must be made prior to the date of the hearing and will not be accepted unless the owner also pays the city's costs of maintaining the animal at the applicable rate set by city council from the impoundment date to the rescheduled date of the hearing at the time the request to reschedule the hearing is made.

E. Although advance deposit of fees may be deferred upon a showing of serious financial hardship at the time of filing the appeal the payment of all applicable fees and animal care and maintenance costs during impoundment will be required after the hearing if the determination by animal services is not reversed, and/or as set forth in Section 6.16.050.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

A. The hearing shall be conducted before a hearing officer. Animal services shall send notice of this hearing to any victims bitten, attacked or injured by the animal, and to any known witnesses of such bite, attack, or injury.

B. The hearing shall be open to the public and shall be recorded by audio or through a shorthand reporter, at the hearing officer's option. The owner may be represented by a representative of their choosing. The hearing officer shall hear all pertinent evidence offered by all interested persons. The technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing, except that the hearing officer's decision may not be based wholly on hearsay evidence. The owner and the animal services representative shall each have the right to call and examine witnesses; to introduce exhibits; to cross-examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the issues at the hearing even though the matter was not covered in the direct examination; to impeach any witness regardless of which party first called him or her to testify, to rebut the evidence against him or her. If the owner does not testify on his or her behalf, he or she may be called and examined as if under cross-examination, except where criminal charges are pending against the owner or if it is possible that such charges may be brought against the owner. All persons testifying may be recorded, either through audio recorder or through a shorthand reporter, at the hearing officer's option, and persons so testifying shall be informed of such recording. The hearing officer shall keep a log of the testimony and documentary evidence received during the hearing. Copies of all documentary evidence submitted to the hearing officer shall be retained by animal services until all appeal periods have elapsed.

C. Any animal which, while at large, has attacked, bitten, or caused injury to a human being or caused a serious injury or the death of another animal or has been declared dangerous or vicious by the animal control officer after an investigation into an incident, is presumed to be dangerous or vicious and the burden is on the owner to present evidence that the animal is not dangerous or vicious.

D. In making a determination that an animal is or is not dangerous or vicious, evidence of the following shall be considered (not in any specific order of preference):

1. Any previous history of the animal attacking, biting or causing injury to a human being or other animal; however, the lack of any such history shall not be the sole grounds for a determination that the animal is not dangerous or vicious;

2. The nature and extent of injuries inflicted, and the number of victims involved;

3. The place where the bite, attack or injury occurred;

4. The presence or absence of any provocation for the bite, attack or injury;

5. The extent to which property has been damaged or destroyed;

6. Whether the animal exhibits any characteristics of being trained for fighting or attack or other evidence to show such training or fighting;

7. Whether the animal exhibits characteristics of aggressive or unpredictable temperament or behavior in the presence of human beings or other animals;

8. Whether the animal can be effectively trained to change its temperament or behavior;

9. The manner in which the animal has been maintained by its owner or custodian;

10. Any other relevant evidence concerning the maintenance of the animal, including but not limited to evidence that animal's license had been revoked on a prior occasion or the owner was required to partake in training pursuant to Section 6.16.070, or meet other obligations concerning previous findings of negligent training, handling, or maintenance; and

11. Any other relevant evidence regarding the ability of the owner or custodian to protect the public safety in the future if the animal is permitted to remain in the city.

E. This section is an administrative hearing procedure established by the city under California Food and Agriculture Code Section 31621. Any and all hearings held pursuant to this chapter of the Municipal Code shall be a hearing held pursuant to Section 31621.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

A. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer may determine:

1. That the animal is not a dangerous or vicious animal and should be returned to its owner. Upon such finding the hearing officer has discretion to determine whether the applicable impound and appeal fees should be waived if the hearing officer determines that the animal should not have been impounded at the time of the incident. The hearing officer may order that the fees shall be required to be paid as a condition of the animal being returned if the hearing officer determines the circumstances of the incident supported the conclusion by the animal control officer that the animal was dangerous or vicious when it was impounded.

2. That the evidence presented at the hearing is insufficient to determine that the animal is or is not dangerous or vicious, but there is sufficient evidence to determine that the attack, bite or injury was the result of improper or negligent training, handling or maintenance and that the license should be revoked and a provisional license be issued while the owner and dog undertake training and educational requirements pursuant to the provisions of Section 6.16.070.

3. That the animal is a dangerous or vicious animal and it should be humanely destroyed no sooner than the tenth business day following the mailing of notice of the hearing officer's decision, pursuant to Section 6.16.060(C).

B. The decision of the hearing officer shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally to the owner or mailed to him or her by regular mail at the address appearing on the request for hearing. A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the animal control officer. If the decision concludes that the animal is dangerous or vicious, the decision shall include the following notification:

"This decision is final. The animal's owner may seek judicial review of this decision by filing an appeal with the Tulare County Superior Court, pursuant to Municipal Code Section 6.16.050(C) and California Food and Agriculture Code Section 31622. If you file such an action, you must also notify city animal services in writing by serving notice of your appeal by personal service during regular business hours or by First Class Mail, postage prepaid, at:

City of Exeter Animal Services, 100 N. C Street, P.O. Box 237, Exeter, CA 93221

An appeal must be filed within five days after your receipt of this decision. If no such petition is filed and timely service is not made of an appeal within ten business days of the date this decision is mailed to you, City of Exeter Animal Services will order the destruction of the animal in a humane manner."

C. The decision of the hearing officer shall be considered the final decision. Either the city or the animal's owner may seek judicial review of the hearing officer's decision by filing an appeal with the Tulare County Superior Court, pursuant to the applicable provisions of California Food and Agriculture Code Section 31622. The party seeking judicial review is responsible for the costs of preparing the administrative record.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

A. It is unlawful for any person to own, possess, harbor or keep any animal declared to be dangerous or vicious.

B. Any animal declared to be dangerous or vicious, if not already impounded, shall be immediately surrendered to the animal control officer, failure to surrender an animal that has been declared dangerous or vicious, is a separate violation of this code, and it is the duty of the animal control officer to take up and impound any such animal.

C. Any animal declared to be dangerous or vicious shall be humanely destroyed. The animal control officer shall sign an order authorizing the destruction of the animal immediately upon occurrence of any of the following:

1. Expiration of ten business days from the date of impoundment without receipt by the animal control officer of a request for appeal pursuant to Section 6.16.030(C);

2. Expiration of ten business days from the mailing of a hearing officer's decision that the animal is dangerous pursuant to Section 6.16.050(A)(3), unless the owner has filed an action with the county superior court seeking judicial review pursuant to Section 6.16.050(C);

3. Expiration of ten business days following the entry of an order by the Tulare County Superior Court upholding the decision of a hearing officer that the animal is dangerous or vicious.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

If it is determined by the hearing officer that the animal is not dangerous or vicious, but that the bite, attack or injury was the result of improper or negligent training, handling or maintenance, then the following conditions will be enforced:

A. Training will be required of the owner and the animal, and the hearing officer, in consultation with the animal control officer, shall set a probationary period and shall set the terms and conditions of the training and other tasks to be completed by the owner during such period;

B. The current license will be revoked, and a "provisional" dog license will be issued during the probationary period;

C. After submission of evidence to the animal control officer of successful completion of the probationary period, the dog shall be issued a current city dog license.

D. Any violation of the probation terms set forth by the hearing officer will result in immediate impoundment. Within ten business days of such impoundment, the animal control officer shall set a hearing with the hearing officer for the purpose of making a new determination whether the animal is dangerous or vicious and shall notify the animal's owner of such hearing. All of the evidence of the previous hearing or hearings as well as new evidence regarding the violation of the probation terms shall be considered by the hearing officer. The hearing shall be conducted in the manner specified in Section 6.16.040. At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer may either establish new provisional license requirements or determine that the animal is dangerous or vicious.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)

The owner or custodian of an animal is deemed responsible for the acts committed by that animal when the owner or custodian fails to comply with legal requirements for keeping the animal secure and under control. In any case wherein an animal attacks, bites or injures a human being or another animal, then the owner or custodian of the animal is in violation of this Code and such violation may be charged as a misdemeanor in accordance with Section 1.12.020 or alternatively as an administrative code violation under Chapter 1.13.

(Ord. No. 717, § 2, 1-13-2026)