Hesperia Municipal Code Ch. 6.08 Animal Care and Control

A. Every person within the city who owns, possesses, or maintains an animal shall maintain their premises in a clean and sanitary condition, shall remove manure and excreta from animal enclosures every day and from yards at least every week, or more often so as to not become a nuisance to reasonable persons in the neighborhood. In no case shall a person maintain an animal in a condition that causes insect infestation or offensive odors.

B. All animals shall be supplied with sufficient good wholesome food and adequate water as often as necessary for the respective animals well being.

C. Animals shall be provided with an enclosure to prevent escape and to provide adequate protection from the elements. Enclosures or structures shall have adequate ventilation to prevent drafts and remove odors.

D. Every animal requiring medical attention shall be taken to a licensed veterinarian if so ordered by the enforcement officer.

E. It shall be unlawful to transport a dog in a motor vehicle upon any street within the city unless the dog is fully enclosed within the motor vehicle or is contained or tethered in a manner that will prevent the dog from falling, jumping, or being thrown from the motor vehicle.

F. No dog or animal shall be left in an enclosed, parked vehicle without adequate ventilation, or in such a way as to subject the animal to extreme temperatures, which may adversely affect the animals' health and welfare.

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

A. No person owning or having control of any animal shall permit such animal to stray or run at large upon any public street, sidewalk, school ground, public park, playground, place of public assembly, or any other public place, or any unenclosed private lot or other unenclosed private place, or upon any private place or property without the consent of the owner or person in control thereof.

B. Any person who finds any animal which has strayed or is running at large upon his own property or any other place contrary to the provisions of this chapter, may take possession of and hold same; provided, however, that he shall notify the animal control officer that he has such animal in his possession within twenty-four (24) hours after securing possession thereof and give such officer full information in regard to the animal, including a complete description of such animal and license number, if any and surrender the same to the animal control officer or division upon demand. While in the person's possession, said person shall accept all responsibility for care and control as described in this chapter.

C. Any person may lawfully take their dog off their property if they restrain it on a substantial leash, not over six feet in length and controlled by a person competent to restrain such dog, or humanely enclose it in an automobile, cage, or similar enclosure, or if the dog is used for law enforcement or herding livestock and under immediate command control.

Exception: Dogs found to be potentially dangerous or vicious and directed to remain on their owner's property.

D. Any dog found at large, running loose, or unrestrained off the owner's property may be impounded by the animal control officer for a period as prescribed by law.

1. If the dog is properly licensed, the first offense shall allow the dog to be returned to the owner without being spayed or neutered The animal shall be microchipped by the animal control department (or designee) prior to return to the owner, at the owner's expense. The second violation shall require the dog to be spayed or neutered at the owner's expense.

2. If the dog is not properly licensed, upon the first violation, the dog shall be returned to the owner only after the dog is properly licensed, microchipped, and spayed or neutered by the animal control department (or designee) at the owner's expense. The city manager, or designee, may approve a one-time exception to spaying or neutering the animal if the owner shows good cause to the manager that such an action is not warranted. Should the exception be granted, the animal shall be licensed, and microchipped at the owner's expense, and the owner shall pay the reclaiming fee, as adopted by city council, before the animal is returned to them. The second violation shall require the dog to be spayed or neutered at the owner's expense.

Any dog impounded to enforce this requirement, and left unclaimed shall become the property of the city.

E. A person found to be in violation of any provision of this Title, including licensing under Section 6.04.010, and/or Hesperia Municipal Code Section 16.20.690 related to the number of animals allowed to be kept on property, shall require those animal(s) subject to the violation to be spayed or neutered, and (for dogs) properly licensed, at the owner's expense.

F. There shall be a reclaiming fee for all impounded animals. If an owner attempts to reclaim an animal, then refuses when told about the fees, the cost of the apprehension and boarding shall be considered a debt against the animal owners property and costs may be recovered by any means available to the city.

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

(Ord. No. 2012-13, §§ 3, 4, 7-17-12; Ord. No. 2014-14, § 3(Exh. A), 8-19-14; Ord. No. 2019-12, § 3(Exh. B), 10-1-19)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2019-12, § 3(Exh. B), adopted October 1, 2019 goes into effect November 17, 2019.

It shall be unlawful for any owner or responsible person in charge of any animal to allow said animal to deposit solid waste matter on any property other than that of the animal owner, unless the animal owner or responsible person in charge of the animal immediately picks up and removes the solid waste. Any solid waste deposited on the animal owner's property must be picked up and disposed of at most every seven days. Disposal may include sealing in a plastic waste bag and removal by the city's approved waste hauler, or removed to the county landfill by the owner. Solid waste from herbivorous animals may be by the preceding methods or may be tilled or disked into the soil on premises.

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

It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any female dog owned, maintained, or controlled by him or her, when such dog is in heat, in season, or in breeding condition, to be unconfined in a manner that attracts stray male dogs. All dogs under four months of age and until vaccinated against rabies, shall be confined to the premises or kept under physical restraint of their owner.

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

A. No person shall have, keep, maintain, breed, sell, trade or let for hire, any wild, exotic, dangerous, or non-domestic animal without first applying to and receiving special authorization from the state of California, Department of Fish and Game and the city. The keeping or maintenance of such animals shall also conform to the city development code.

B. The animal control officer may authorize the keeping or maintaining of any wild, exotic, dangerous, or non-domestic animal when, in his/her opinion, any such animal may be kept or maintained without endangering the safety or any person, other animal or property, nor create a nuisance; provided, however, that the animal control officer may require any such animal to be properly caged, tethered, or restrained, and that he or she may create such additional requirements that may be necessary and proper under the circumstances. Any privately owned wild, exotic, dangerous, or non-domestic animal shall require a license fee as specified in the city fee schedule; the initial fee to be paid at the time of application. The animal control officer may revoke such authori-zation when, in his or her opinion, the safety of any person, other animal or property is endangered or that a nuisance is created by the keeping of such animal.

C. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to licensed circuses, carnivals, zoos or other collections of wild animals under jurisdiction of the city, state or federal government.

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

When any animal owned by, or in the custody or control of any person, or found in any person's private property dies, such person shall within twenty-four (24) hours, provide for the burial, incineration, or other disposition of the body of such dead animal or fowl in a safe and sanitary manner.

It shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of the body of such dead animal in or on any public or private property, other than his or her own, without proper authorization from the city animal control officer.

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

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove any animal from the custody of Hesperia animal control without first obtaining authorization for the release of the animal.

B. Any animal removed from Hesperia animal control without such authorization may be retaken by the enforcement officer and again impounded. The holding time period for any animal unlawfully removed from the shelter shall include all the time from the original impound date and include any time the animal was unlawfully removed from the shelter.

C. It shall be unlawful to attempt to adopt any animal from the shelter in order to avoid payment of costs or fees for the capture, impound, treatment, or boarding of the animal.

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

It shall be unlawful to fight train, keep, harbor, transport through the limits of the city, own, or in any way possess a dog for the purpose of dogfight exhibitions. Scars and wounds are rebuttable evidence of participation in dogfight exhibitions or training. "Fight training" is defined to include but not be limited to:

A. The use or possession of treadmills unless under the direction of a veterinarian;

B. Actions designed to torment, badger or bait any dog for purpose of encouraging said dog for fight exhibitions;

C. The use of weights on the dog unless under the direction of a veterinarian;

D. The use of other animals for blood sport training;

E. Any other activity the primary purpose of which is the training of dogs for aggressive or vicious behavior or dog-fighting exhibitions.

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

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, trade, offer for sale or trade, barter or give away any dog, cat or other animal on any public property or any property not owned by that person. This section shall not pertain to any licensed commercial animal facility as long as the business is conducted within the licensed place of business. This section shall also not apply to an adoption program conducted or permitted by the city.

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