Rosemead Municipal Code Ch. 6.02 Terms and Duties

For the purpose of this chapter, unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, certain terms used herein are defined as follows:

"Animal" means any beast, poultry, bird, reptile, or fish.

"Animal Exhibition" means any display containing one or more domestic or wild animals which are exposed to public view for entertainment, instruction, or advertisement.

"Animal Menagerie" means a place where wild animals are kept or maintained for any commercial purpose including places where wild animals are boarded, trained, or kept for hire.

"At Large" means an animal off the premises of its owner unless such animal can be securely confined by a strong leash securely and continuously held by the owner of such animal or confined within an automobile.

"Cat" means any feline of any age, including both male and female.

"Cat Kennel" means any lot, building, structure, enclosure, or premises whereupon or wherein four or more cats, four months of age, are kept or maintained for any purpose, including places where cats are boarded, kept for sale, or kept for hire.

"Dog" means any canine, including both male and female.

"Dog Kennel" means any lot, building, structure, enclosure, or premises whereupon or wherein four or more dogs over four months of age are kept or maintained for any purpose, including places where dogs are boarded, kept for sale, or kept for hire.

"Grooming Parlor/Mobile" means any place of business, whether or not such business is regularly conducted by the operator within a building or other structure, permanent or otherwise or within a van, truck or other movable vehicle, where animals are groomed, clipped, bathed or otherwise conditioned as pets and/or for show.

"Hobby Breeder" [means] any person, except for a person possessing a valid kennel license, which owns and breeds a dog or cat and sells the offspring for pay or other compensation.

"Horse" means any mule, burro, pony, jack, hinny or jenny.

"Household Pets" means a domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat, or Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.

"Impounded." If any animal pursuant to this title or any state statute has been received into the custody of any animal shelter, such animal will have been "Impounded", as such word is used throughout.

"Impounding Agency" means the animal control officer or the City of Rosemead, or any other agency designated by the City of Rosemead for the purpose of impounding an animal taken into custody.

"Large Animal" means any animal that weighs two hundred fifty (250) pounds or more.

"Owner" means any person, firm or corporation owning, having an interest in, or having control, custody, or possession of an interest in, or having control, custody or possession of any animal.

"Person" [means] any firm, partnership, corporation, trust, association, or individual person.

"Pet Shop" means any place of business where dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, reptiles, fish, or any other animals to be kept as pets are kept for sale.

"Pygmy Pig" means a pig or hog classified as Sus scrofa jubatus Muller, Sus scrofa (cristatus) vittatus, and commonly referred to as a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, pygmy pig, or mini-pig, which stands no higher than twenty (20) inches at the shoulder and is no longer than forty (40) inches from the tip of the head to the end of the buttocks, and weighs no more than one hundred twenty (120) pounds.

"Shall and May." "Shall" is mandatory, "May" is permissive.

"Small Animal" means any animal that weighs less than two hundred fifty (250) pounds.

"Unlicensed Dog" means any dog for which the license for the current year has not been paid, or to which the tag for the current year provided for within is not attached.

"Wild Animals" [means animals that] can live independently of humans and are not descended from domesticated animals. They behave in a similar way to other members of their species and do not need people to provide them with food, accommodation or breeding partners.

"Wild Species" means any wild, exotic, dangerous, or nondomestic animal, including, but not limited to, mammals, fowl, fish, or reptiles.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09; Ord. No. 970, § 1, 1-10-17)

The office of the Animal Control Officer is established. The Animal Control Officer may be a person, firm, association, corporation, another municipality, or the County of Los Angeles, as determined by the City Council. The Animal Control Officer shall serve for such period of time and shall receive such compensation as shall be established by ordinance, resolution or by contract executed by the City Council. The Animal Control Officer is authorized and directed to perform, in conjunction with and under the supervision of the City Manager, the powers and duties wherein bestowed upon and required to be performed by said Animal Control Officer.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 1-17-09)

Whenever a power is granted to, or duty is imposed upon the Animal Control Officer, Public Safety Officer or other public officer, the power may be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy of the officer or by a person authorized, pursuant to law, by the officer, unless this chapter expressly provides otherwise.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

The Animal Control Officer shall be vested with the necessary police powers and duties of a Police Officer for the exclusive purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter, and it shall be his duty to issue citations for violations of any of the provisions of this chapter. The Animal Control Officer shall enforce all of the laws of the city, county, and state relating to the care, treatment, impounding or other conditions of animals, and to the prevention of cruelty to animals. The exercise of said police powers shall be under the direct supervision of the City Manager.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

The Animal Control Officer or Public Safety Officer, when so contracted for, shall be vested with the powers and duties of a license inspector, and shall have the power to collect the license fees and to issue the animal licenses and tags prescribed herein.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

It is made the duty of the Animal Control Officer or Public Safety Officer to enforce any other sections of this chapter, whether enumerated as a duty or not.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

No person shall rescue or attempt to rescue any animal mentioned herein from the possession of the Animal Control Officer, nor interfere with the Animal Control Officer or his deputies in the performance of their official duties.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

The Animal Control Officer, any officer or employee thereof or other duly designated representative of the city, or Police Officer shall have the right to make an inspection to enforce the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law by entering into any building or upon any property within the city, when said person has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building and/or upon any property any violation of the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law; provided, that:

A. If such building and/or property is occupied, he shall first present proper credentials to the occupant and request entry, explaining his reasons therefore; and if such building and/or property is unoccupied, he shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner thereof or other persons having authority over the building and/or property and request entry, explaining his reasons therefore.

B. If entry into said building or upon said property is refused, the Animal Control Officer, any officer or employee thereof or other duly designated representative of the city, or any Police Officer shall obtain an inspection warrant pursuant to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (Sec. 1822.50—1822.57), for the entry and inspection of said building and/or said property.

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Animal Control Officer, any officer or employee thereof, or other duly designated representative of the City, or any Police Officer has probable cause to believe that the keeping or the maintaining of any animal is so hazardous, unsafe or dangerous as to require immediate inspection to safeguard the animal or the public health or safety, he shall have the right to immediately enter and inspect such building and/or property, and may use any reasonable means required to effect such entry and make such inspection, whether such building and/or property is occupied or unoccupied and whether or not permission to inspect has been obtained. If the building and/or property is occupied, he shall first present proper credentials to the occupant and request entry, explaining his reasons therefore.

This section shall not prohibit the Animal Control Officer, any officer or employee thereof, or any Police Officer from entering upon any public or private property in the City for the purpose of capturing an animal running at large in violation of this chapter or other applicable law. Any person who denies, prevents, obstructs, or attempts to deny, prevent or obstruct said capture is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)

The City Prosecutor, in his or her sound discretion, may prosecute violations of this title as infractions or misdemeanors.

(Ord. No. 884, § 1, 11-17-09)