Hesperia Municipal Code Ch. 6.04 Licensing

It shall be unlawful for persons to own, harbor, or keep any dog over four months of age within the city without such dog having and wearing a current and valid license tag issued by the city. Application for a dog license shall be made within thirty (30) days after obtaining the dog, or when the dog reaches four months of age.

Exception: Any dog spending more than fifty (50) percent of its time within another jurisdiction, which shall be a "visiting dog." Such visiting dog may be kept within the city for up to fourteen (14) days without a Hesperia license so long as it has a current and valid license from another jurisdiction, and the license tag is attached to the dog."

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

(Ord. No. 2014-14, § 3(Exh. A), 8-19-14)

A. Written application for licenses, which shall include the name and address of applicant, a California identification card or drivers license, description of the animal, the appropriate fee, and rabies certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian, and if applicable, a certificate of sterility shall be made to the city.

B. If not revoked, licenses for the keeping of dogs shall be issued for a period of one year or more, not to exceed three years or the expiration date of the current rabies vaccination certificate.

C. Upon acceptance of the license application and fee, the city shall issue a durable tag, stamped with an identifying number.

D. The city shall maintain a record of the identifying numbers of all tags issued and shall make this record available pursuant to the Government Code as a public record.

E. The licensing period shall run concurrently with the rabies vaccination certificate.

F. No person may use any license for any animal other than the animal for which it was issued.

G. Any dog not wearing a current Hesperia dog license tag is considered to be unlicensed.

Exception: Dogs on the owner's property may not be found in violation if evidence of a valid Hesperia license can be provided by the owner upon request, and/or by Animal Control Records check.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

(Ord. No. 2014-14, § 3(Exh. A), 8-19-14)

License fees shall be established by resolution of the Hesperia City Council. Any person who obtains a license not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter shall pay a penalty fee in addition to the license fee.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Dog licenses are valid for one, two, or three years from date of issuance depending upon the fee paid and the rabies certificate's validity. Licenses shall be renewed within thirty (30) days of expiration. When an original license tag has been lost, a duplicate tag shall be obtained at a cost set by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Except as provided for in Section 6.04.020, it shall be the responsibility of every resident who owns, harbors, cares for, or has in custody a licensed dog, to securely attach or fasten the license tag to the dog's collar or harness so that such tag is worn by the dog at all times.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

(Ord. No. 2014-14, § 3(Exh. A), 8-19-14)

It shall be unlawful for any person to place upon or attach to a dog any false, counterfeit or unauthorized tag.

It shall be unlawful to attach a license tag on a dog to which said tag was not originally issued.

It shall be unlawful for an unauthorized person to remove from any dog, any collar or harness or other device to which is attached a city of Hesperia license tag for the current year or remove such tag therefrom.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

A license may be transferred from one to another Hesperia resident upon completion of an application and payment of a fee, established by the city council. If a dog licensed in Hesperia, is transferred to another Hesperia resident, the new owner shall complete the application. Animals transferred from a different jurisdiction, but appropriately licensed in their prior jurisdiction, shall pay a transfer fee as established by city council resolution, and a new tag will be issued.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Every person keeping, maintaining, or having custody of a dog over the age of four months shall cause the dog to be vaccinated with a canine rabies vaccine approved by the California Department of Health within thirty (30) days from obtaining the dog or within thirty (30) days of the dog attaining the age of four months.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

It shall be the duty of any person having knowledge that any animal subject to rabies, whether or not the animal is suspected of having rabies, has bitten any human being within the city to immediately report that fact to the animal control department or the police department and provide full information regarding the incident.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Upon receipt of a report that a person has been bitten by an animal subject to rabies (all warm-blooded mammals), any person authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter is hereby empowered to enter upon any private property, including the home or residence where the biting animal is kept or has strayed, to inspect, and strictly isolate, seize, or impound if necessary, in a place and manner approved by the animal control officer, any such animal for a period of ten days (for dogs and cats) and fourteen (14) days (for other animals). Rodents (members of the Rodentia), rabbits and hares (members of the order Lagomorpha) are not required to be quarantined.

The animal control officer or licensed veterinarian may authorize, with permission of the owner, if known, and other legal restrictions permitting, the euthanasia of a biting animal for the purpose of laboratory examination for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody (FRA) test.

It shall be unlawful for any person to remove from any place of isolation or quarantine any animal which has been isolated or quarantined under the provisions of this chapter, without the consent of the animal control officer.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

It is the duty of any person having knowledge of the whereabouts of an animal known to have or suspected of having rabies to report the fact immediately to the animal control division. If such person is the owner or possessor or has custody of such animal, he or she shall immediately confine it and keep said animal strictly confined until it is established to the satisfaction of said official that such animal has or does not have rabies.

Where such owner or possessor does not have the proper facility for such confinement, or animal owner continually allows such animal to run loose and at large, or where the owner of such rabid or suspected rabid animal is not known, such animal shall be isolated in strict confinement under proper care and under the observation of a California licensed veterinarian, or California licensed registered veterinary technician, in a pound, veterinary hospital, or other adequate facility in a manner approved by the animal control officer, and shall not be killed or released for at least ten days after the onset of symptoms suggestive of rabies. If such animal creates a menace to the public health and safety, the animal control officer or his representative may kill or destroy the animal forthwith and have it examined for rabies using the fluorescent rabies antibody (FRA) test.

Whenever any such owned biting animal is quarantined in place other than the premises of its owner, all expenses incurred in its confinement shall be the liability of the owner, possessor or custodian of such biting animal.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Any animal that is subject to rabies which has been exposed to a known rabid animal or suspected rabid animal shall, upon notification of its owner, possessor or custodian, be:

A. Immediately securely confined in a place and manner approved by the animal control officer for a period of six months; or

B. Immediately destroyed unless the biting animal is determined by laboratory examination to be negative from rabies, except that in the case of dogs and cats, the following alternative is permitted:

1. The dog or cat shall be revaccinated and then quarantined for a period of thirty (30) days provided such dog or cat has been vaccinated not less than thirty (30) days prior, with a rabies vaccine approved by the California State Department of Public Health.

The animal control officer may, at his discretion, destroy or quarantine the animal so bitten where the owner, possessor or custodian thereof is not readily accessible or is not known.

The carcass of any dead animal exposed to rabies will, upon demand, be surrendered to the animal control officer.

Upon the discretion of the animal control officer, specimens of high risk or medium risk animals involved in a biting incident shall be examined for rabies. Specimens of low-risk animals may be examined upon payment of reasonable laboratory fees.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

It shall be the duty of any person authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter to post an appropriate sign in a conspicuous place at a location where a dog or cat or any biting, vicious or rabid animal is being quarantined or confined to warn the public of this fact. It shall be unlawful for anyone to obstruct the posting of such a sign or to remove or destroy such a posted sign without permission of the animal control officer.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Rabies vaccinations shall be performed only by a veterinarian who is duly licensed to practice in the state of California. Vaccination for rabies may be done in any veterinary clinic or hospital or in a low-cost rabies vaccination clinic.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, a dog may be exempted from rabies vaccination if such vaccination would jeopardize the health of such dog due to infirmity or other disability provided the owner has in his possession a written certification from a licensed veterinarian attesting to such infirmity or disability. The owner or custodian of such dog shall, within ten days after the termination of such infirmity or disability, cause such dog to be vaccinated and licensed. Any such dog with infirmity or disability shall be securely confined within its owner's or harborer's premises so that it does not come in contact with any other animal or person.

(Ord. 2002-08 Exh. C (part), 2002)

The city's animal control department shall issue a service animal license to any individual who requires the use of a service animal other than a dog, or a service animal tag to a service animal that is a dog, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

A. The individual applies to the city's animal control department for a service animal license or tag.

B. The individual presents a written certification from a doctor that the animal meets the definition of a service animal under Section 5.68.020(B) of this code, as follows: "any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal of any species, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, detecting intermittent medical conditions and alerting individuals of same, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items."

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 2, 3-15-11)

If an individual applies for a service animal tag for a dog pursuant to Section 6.04.200, the individual shall sign an affidavit stating as follows:

"By affixing my signature to this affidavit, I hereby declare I fully understand that Section 365.7 of the Penal Code prohibits any person to knowingly and fraudulently represent himself or herself, through verbal or written notice, to be the owner or trainer of any canine licensed as, to be qualified as, or identified as, a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog, as defined in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f), respectively, of Section 365.5 of the Penal Code and paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 54.1 of the Civil Code (which incorporate the Hesperia Municipal Code section 5.68.020(B) definition), and that a violation of Section 365.7 of the Penal Code is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine."

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 2, 3-15-11)

An individual who has obtained a service animal license or tag may present the license or tag to an owner or operator of a business or other public accommodation that is open to the public in Hesperia, as proof that the individual's animal is a service animal and that the individual must be permitted access to the public accommodation with the service animal pursuant to Section 5.68.030 of this code. A public accommodation shall not require an individual with a service animal to present a service animal license or tag. The service animal license or tag serves as proof that access must be provided pursuant to Section 5.68.030, but a public accommodation must provide access to any individual with an animal that meets the definition of a service animal in Section 5.68.020(B) whether or not the individual possesses a service animal license or tag.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 2, 3-15-11)

Upon the death or retirement of a service dog, the owner or person in possession of the service dog tag shall immediately return the tag to the city's animal control department.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 2, 3-15-11)