Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 11 Abandoned, Neglected and Cruelly Treated Animals

Any dog, cat or other animal which is abandoned, neglected, sick, lame, feeble, is unfit for the labor it is performing, or that in any manner is being cruelly treated may be impounded and disposed of in a humane manner as hereinafter provided.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Whenever the Director of Animal Control or any peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that very prompt action is required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health or safety of other animals or of persons, or if a dog is unaltered and weighs over twenty (20) pounds, the officer shall immediately seize the animal and comply with the procedure established in Section 6-1.1103. In all other cases, he shall comply with the provisions of Section 6-1.1104. The costs of caring for and treating any animal properly seized under this article shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid, unless the hearing officer determines that the seizure was unjustified.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1256-10 (CM), eff. May 27, 2010)

Whenever the Director of Animal Control or a peace officer seizes or impounds an animal based on a reasonable belief that prompt action is required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health or safety of others, the owner or keeper of the animal, if known or ascertained after reasonable investigation, shall be provided with the opportunity for a post-seizure hearing to determine the validity of the seizure or impoundment, or both.

(a) The Director of Animal Control shall cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous place where the animal was situated or personally deliver a notice of the seizure or impoundment, or send by first class mail, to the owner or keeper within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice shall include all of the following:

(1) The name, business address and telephone number of the person providing the notice;

(2) A description of the animal seized, including any identification upon the animal;

(3) The authority and purpose for the seizure, or impoundment, including the time, place and circumstances under which the animal was seized;

(4) A statement that, in order to receive a post-seizure hearing, the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or her agent, shall request the administrative hearing by signing and returning an enclosed declaration of ownership or right to keep the animal to the Director of Animal Control within ten (10) days, including weekends and holidays, of the date of the notice. The declaration may be returned by personal delivery or first class mail;

(5) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any animal properly seized under this article is a lien on the animal and that the animal shall not be returned to the owner until the cost is paid, and that the failure to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in liability for this cost.

(b) The post-seizure hearing shall be conducted within forty-eight (48) hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 6-1.1108.

(c) Failure of the owner or keeper, or of his or her agent, to request a hearing within the prescribed time periods or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in forfeiture of any right to a post-seizure hearing or right to challenge his or her liability for costs incurred.

(d) The Director of Animal Control or the law enforcement agency that directed the seizure shall be responsible for the costs incurred for caring for and treating the animal, if it is determined in the post-seizure hearing that the seizing officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe very prompt action, including seizure of the animal, was required to protect the health or safety of the animal or the health or safety of other animals or persons. If it is determined the seizure was justified, the owner or keeper shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of the animal and the animal shall not be returned to its owner until the charges are paid and the Director of Animal Control has determined that the animal is physically fit or the owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Director of Animal Control that the owner can and will provide the necessary care.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Where the need for immediate seizure is not present, the Director of Animal Control shall provide the owner or keeper of the animal, if known or ascertainable after reasonable investigation, with the opportunity for a hearing prior to any seizure or impoundment of the animal. The owner shall produce the animal to the Director of Animal Control before the hearing unless, before the hearing, the owner has obtained consent from and made placement arrangements with the Director of Animal Control that the animal need not be brought to the Director of Animal Control before the hearing. Any person who willfully fails to produce the animal or obtain consent from the Director of Animal Control before the hearing regarding placement arrangements for the animal is guilty of an infraction, punishable as provided in this Code.

(a) The Director of Animal Control or law enforcement agency shall also cause a notice to be affixed to a conspicuous place where the animal was situated, and personally deliver or mail by first class mail, said notice stating the grounds for believing the animal should be seized. The notice shall include all of the following:

(1) The name, business address and telephone number of the officer providing the notice;

(2) A description of the animal to be seized, including any identification upon the animal;

(3) The authority and purpose for the possible seizure or impoundment;

(4) A statement that, in order to receive a hearing prior to any seizure, the owner or person authorized to keep the animal, or his or her agent, shall request the hearing by signing and returning the enclosed declaration of ownership or right to keep animal to the officer providing the notice within two (2) days, excluding weekends and holidays, of the date of the notice;

(5) A statement that the cost of caring for and treating any animal properly seized is a lien on the animal, that any animal seized shall not be returned to the owner until the charges are paid, and that failure to request a hearing within the prescribed time period, or to attend a scheduled hearing, shall result in a conclusive determination that the animal may properly be seized and that the owner shall be liable for the charges.

(b) The pre-seizure hearing shall be conducted within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and holidays, after receipt of this request. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure established in Section 6-1.1108.

(c) Failure of the owner or keeper, or his or her agent, to request a hearing within the prescribed time period or to attend a scheduled hearing shall result in a forfeiture of any right to a pre-seizure hearing or right to challenge his or her liability for costs incurred pursuant to this title.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

If any animal is properly seized under this article, the owner or keeper shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for the cost of the seizure and care of the animal. Furthermore, if the charges for the seizure or impoundment and any other charges permitted under this title are not paid within fourteen (14) days of the seizure, or, if the owner, within fourteen (14) days of notice of availability of the animal to be returned, fails to pay charges permitted under this title and take possession of the animal, the animal shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be disposed of by the impounding officer.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

If the animal requires veterinary care and the seizing agency is not assured, within fourteen (14) days of the seizure of the animal, that the owner will provide the necessary care, the animal shall not be returned to its owner and shall be deemed to have been abandoned and may be humanely disposed of by the impounding officer. A veterinarian may humanely destroy an impounded animal without regard to the prescribed holding period when it has been determined that the animal has incurred severe injuries or is determined to be incurably ill or crippled. A veterinarian also may immediately humanely destroy an impounded animal afflicted with a serious contagious disease unless the owner or his or her agent immediately authorizes treatment of the animal by a veterinarian at the expense of the owner or agent.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

No animal properly seized under this article shall be returned to its owner until, in the determination of the seizing agency or hearing officer, the animal is physically fit or the owner can demonstrate to the seizing agency’s or hearing officer’s satisfaction that the owner can and will provide the necessary care. In the case of an unaltered dog which weighs over twenty (20) pounds, the owner or keeper shall have the dog altered or obtain an unaltered animal certificate pursuant to Section 6-1.1002 and submit to a facility check by the Animal Control Department before the dog is released.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009, as amended by § 1, Ord. 1256-10 (CM), eff. May 27, 2010)

All hearings conducted pursuant to this article shall be conducted by a person (hearing officer), who shall not have been personally involved in the subject action and shall not be subordinate in rank to the person seizing or impounding the animal. Hearings shall be conducted in the following manner:

(a) The hearing officer may continue the hearing for a reasonable period of time if the hearing officer deems such continuance to be necessary and proper or if the owner or custodian shows good cause for such continuance.

(b) The Director of Animal Control shall have the burden of proof to establish, by a preponderance of evidence, the existence of the condition or conditions which give rise to the need for the seizure or impoundment.

(c) If the Director of Animal Control is also seeking to terminate the owner’s rights in the animal, he shall have put the owner or keeper of the animal on written notice thereof and shall establish the existence of the owner’s or keeper’s acts or omissions resulting in cruelty or neglect to the animal by clear and convincing evidence to a reasonable certainty.

(d) The Director of Animal Control shall present his case first, followed by the party against whom the seizure or impoundment is being proposed. The Director of Animal Control may present rebuttal in the discretion of the hearing officer.

(e) Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation.

(f) Each party shall have the right to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, to cross-examine opposing witnesses on any other matter relevant to the issues even though that matter was not covered in the direct examination, to impeach any witness regardless of which party first called the witness and to rebut evidence.

(g) The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in civil actions. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other evidence, but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the extent that they are otherwise required by statute to be recognized in the hearing. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.

(h) At the conclusion of the hearing, each side shall be given an opportunity to summarize its position.

(i) The hearing officer shall render, in writing, his or her finding, decision and order thereon, and shall give notice, in writing, of the findings, decision and order to the owner or custodian of the animal.

(j) In the event a sufficient quantum of evidence presented at the hearing supports a determination for seizure, impoundment and/or termination of the owner’s rights in the animal, the hearing officer as a part of his or her decision may order, but is not limited to ordering, that one or more of the following actions be undertaken:

(1) That the owner’s and/or custodian’s rights in the dog, cat or other animal are terminated;

(2) That the owner or custodian of the dog, cat or other animal shall remove the animal(s) from the premises by a specified date;

(3) That the Director of Animal Control, after a specified date, shall impound the animal or animals;

(4) That the Director of Animal Control shall sell, give away or otherwise dispose of the animal(s) with the owner or custodian of the animal(s) being responsible to reimburse the Director of Animal Control for all costs and expenses including, but not limited to, board, care, veterinary services, and costs of disposal. If the animal(s) are sold, the proceeds from the sale shall go to the Director of Animal Control.

(k) A decision upholding seizure or impoundment shall become effective upon issuance.

(l) A decision terminating an owner’s rights in the animal shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date the decision is mailed unless a stay of execution is granted.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Every such disabled, infirm or crippled animal, except a dog or cat, abandoned in any part of the City may be immediately euthanized by the Director of Animal Control, law enforcement or their designees if, after a reasonable search, no owner of the animal can be located. It shall be the duty of all peace officers and the Director of Animal Control to cause the animal to be killed or rehabilitated and placed in a suitable home on information that the animal is stray or abandoned.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Any peace officer or the Director of Animal Control shall convey all injured cats and dogs found without their owners in a public place directly to a veterinarian who ordinarily treats dogs and cats for a determination of whether the animal shall be immediately and humanely destroyed or shall be hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment.

If the owner does not redeem the animal within the prescribed waiting period, the veterinarian may personally perform euthanasia on the animal. If the animal is treated and recovers from its injuries, the veterinarian may keep the animal for purposes of adoption, provided the responsible animal control agency has first been contacted and has refused to take possession of the animal.

Whenever any animal is transferred to a veterinarian in a clinic, such as an emergency clinic which is not in continuous operation, the veterinarian may, in turn, transfer the animal to an appropriate facility.

If the veterinarian determines that the animal shall be hospitalized under proper care and given emergency treatment, the costs of any services which are provided pending the owner’s inquiry to the Director of Animal Control shall be paid from the dog license fees, fines, and fees from impounding dogs, subject to the provision that this cost be repaid by the animal’s owner. The cost of caring for and treating any animal seized under this article shall constitute a lien on the animal and the animal shall not be returned to the owner until the charges are paid. No veterinarian shall be criminally or civilly liable for any decisions which he or she makes, or for services which he or she provides pursuant to this title.

An animal control agency which takes possession for an animal pursuant to this article shall keep records of the whereabouts of the animal for a seventy-two (72) hour period from the time of possession, and those records shall be available for inspection by the public upon request.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, any peace officer or the Director of Animal Control may humanely destroy any stray or abandoned animal in the field in any case where the animal is too severely injured to move or where a veterinarian is not available and it would be more humane to dispose of the animal.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Every owner, driver or keeper of any animal who permits the animal to be in any building, enclosure, lane, street, square or lot within the City, without proper care or attention, shall be guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor as hereinafter specified. Any individual convicted of a violation of this article shall be guilty of an infraction under this Code. Except that a first or second offense may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Payment of any penalty herein shall not relieve an individual from the responsibility for correcting the violation.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

Upon the conviction of a person charged with a violation of this article, all animals lawfully seized and impounded with respect to the violation shall be adjudged by the court to be forfeited and shall thereupon be transferred to the impounding officer for proper disposition. A person convicted of a violation of this title shall be personally liable to the seizing agency for all costs of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of proper disposition. This article shall not prohibit the seizure or impoundment of animals as evidence as provided for under any other provision of law.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

This title is not intended, nor shall it be construed in any way, to affect Sections 31101 or 31625 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

(§ 1, Ord. 1250-09 (CM), eff. December 10, 2009)

(a) Any person who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States, of the State of California, or any other state, government, or country, who owns, purchases, receives, or has in his or her possession or under his or her custody or control a dog that poses a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon is guilty of a misdemeanor, unless the person possesses a current, valid prohibited dog permit for that dog as provided in Section 6-1.1116. A convicted felon under this chapter shall not include felons whose convictions were set aside pursuant to Penal Code Section 1203.4. “Misused” by a convicted felon means, at any time, use of a dog in a threatening or aggressive manner, or in the commission of a crime.

(b) Any dog whose owner or keeper is in violation of this section shall be impounded, or impounded subject to destruction, at the owner’s expense.

(c) A dog that poses a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon under this section means any of the following:

(1) A dog weighing more than twenty (20) pounds.

(2) A dog which has been designated a potentially dangerous dog or vicious dog under Sections 6-1.113 and 6-1.116.

(3) A dog designated by the Animal Services Director as posing a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon based upon one or more of the following factors:

(i) The nature of any complaints regarding the dog;

(ii) The strength of the dog, including jaw strength;

(iii) The dog’s tolerance to pain;

(iv) The dog’s tendency to refuse to terminate an attack;

(v) The dog’s potential propensity to bite humans or other domestic animals;

(vi) The dog’s potential or unpredictable behavior;

(vii) The dog’s aggressiveness; or

(viii) The likelihood that a bite by the dog will result in serious injury.

This section shall not apply to any assistance dog, including guide dogs, signal dogs and service dogs, trained or in training to assist a qualified individual with a disability.

(§ 1, Ord. 1256-10 (CM), eff. May 27, 2010)

Any convicted felon who wishes to own, purchase, receive or have in his or her possession or under his or her custody or control a dog weighing more than twenty (20) pounds under Section 6-1.1115(c)(1), or a dog that the Animal Services Director designates as posing a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon under Section 6-1.1115(c)(3), may apply for a prohibited dog permit to own, keep or maintain that dog. If there is probable cause to believe that a dog poses a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon, the dog may be impounded pending a determination made under this chapter and until any required permit is obtained. If the Animal Services Director designates a dog as posing a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare if misused by a convicted felon, written notice of this designation shall be mailed to the owner or keeper of the dog. The owner or keeper must pay an application fee and apply for the prohibited dog permit within fifteen (15) calendar days after the mailing of the written notice of designation. The Animal Services Director may deny a prohibited dog permit if he or she determines that the dog poses a danger to the public’s health safety or welfare, or may condition the issuance of the permit upon the permittee’s written agreement to comply with conditions of ownership to be determined by the Animal Services Director. These conditions of ownership may include, but are not limited to, those found in this chapter. A prohibited dog permit may subsequently be revoked by the Animal Services Director if there is probable cause to believe that the convicted felon’s continued ownership of the dog poses a danger to the public’s health, safety or welfare.

This section shall not apply to any assistance dog, including guide dogs, signal dogs and service dogs, trained or in training to assist a qualified individual with a disability.

(§ 1, Ord. 1256-10 (CM), eff. May 27, 2010)