CHAPTER 9.04
GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
9.04.020 Definitions.
As used in this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions shall apply:
A. "Animal" means any nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish including, but not limited to, dog, cat, horse, goat, sheep, and chicken and all animals defined in California Penal Code Section 597.
B. "Animal control officer" means the person appointed by the city manager as animal control officer and any designated assistants, any peace officer and any designated police department employee.
C. "Animal services manager" or "manager" means the person appointed by the city manager whose duties include, but are not limited to, the enforcement of this title and the management of day-to-day operations of the city-operated animal services department.
D. "Animal hearing officer" means the animal services manager or person(s) appointed by the city manager to conduct all hearings authorized by this title.
E. "Apiary" means bees, hives, colonies, or beekeeping appliances wherever they are kept, located or found in accordance with Food and Agriculture Code Section 29002, as amended from time to time.
F. "Authorized feral cat care organization" means any tax exempt organization under Section 501(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or similar provision that complies with all of the requirements of Section 9.14.110 of this title and other applicable law.
G. "Beekeeping appliance" means any implement or other device which is used in handling and manipulating bees or comb, any container of bees or comb, or any other equipment which is used in the practice of apiculture.
H. "Bee" means a honey-producing insect of the species Apis mellificia, including the adults, eggs, larvae, pupae and other immature states thereof.
I. "Beehive" or "hive" means any receptacle or container or part thereof that is made or prepared for the use of bees, or any box or similar container that is inhabited by bees in accordance with Food and Agriculture Code Section 29011, as amended from time to time.
J. "Bee colony" means one beehive and its contents, including bees, comb, and beekeeping appliances in accordance with Food and Agriculture Code Section 29006, as amended from time to time.
K. "Domestic birds" means any of a class (Aves) of domestic warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings.
L. "Cat" means a domestic cat (Felis catus). Cats are the personal property of their owner.
M. "Impound" means to take into custody by the animal control officer as authorized by this title.
N. "Commercial kennel or cattery" means any premises except veterinary hospitals, animal shelters or private kennels where five or more dogs four months in age or older, or seven or more cats four months of age or older, are kept for commercial purposes.
O. "Hobby kennel or cattery" means any place or premises on which five or more dogs or seven or more cats over four months of age are owned and kept by the owner or occupant for personal, noncommercial purposes, including, but not limited to, hunting, tracking, exhibiting at shows, exhibitions, field trials or other competitions, or enhancing or perpetuating a given breed, other than dogs used in conjunction with a legal agricultural operation on the lot or premises. No hobby kennel operator shall sell, display, offer for sale, barter or give away more than one litter of puppies and/or kittens in any calendar year.
P. "Feral cat" means any free roaming domestic cat without owner identification of any kind whose usual and consistent temperament is extreme fear and resistance to contact with people and that based on the reasonable determination of an animal control officer is not socialized in accordance with Food and Agriculture Code Section 31752.5, subdivision (b), as amended from time to time.
Q. "Dog" means domestic dog (Canis familiaris) of any age and either sex.
R. "Livestock" includes but is not limited to horses, mules, jacks, cows, cattle, goats or sheep that do not customarily inhabit their owners’ dwellings. Includes but not limited to Bovine, Caprine, Equine, Ovine and Porcine.
S. "Owner" means any person over eighteen years of age owning, keeping, harboring or having custody of, or possession of, any animal. An animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed or sheltered for thirty or more consecutive days. This definition shall not apply to a veterinarian in the regular practice of his profession as to any animal in his possession while being treated or cared for. This definition shall not apply to an operator of a commercial kennel as to any animal that is being boarded in the regular practice of his business, nor to members of an authorized feral cat care organization operating in accordance with Section 9.14.110.
T. "Person" means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or association of persons.
U. "Pet shop" means a premises wherein pet animals are kept for purposes of wholesale or retail sale, exchange or hire to the public. "Pet shop" does not include any place where pet animals are occasionally sold. "Pet animals" means dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys and other primates, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, snakes, iguanas, turtles and any other species of animal sold or trained for the purpose of being kept as a household pet.
V. "Possessor" means any person other than the owner of an animal who has lawful custody or possession of the animal.
W. "Potbellied pig" means any of a breed of small pigs (sus scrofa bittatus) known as Vietnamese, Chinese or Asian potbellied pigs.
X. "Premises" means and includes any dwelling, building, real property, vehicle, vessel or part thereof.
Y. "Proof of ownership" means documentation demonstrating that a person owns an animal and includes, but is not limited to, a license, veterinary record, valid bill of sale, or adoption contract.
Z. "Served by mail" refers to service by registered, certified and/or first-class letter. The date the letter is posted in the mail shall constitute the date the letter was served by mail.
AA. "Veterinarian" means a person licensed to practice veterinary medicine by the state of California.
BB. "Veterinary hospital" means a premises operated by a veterinarian for the treatment of diseases and injuries to animals.
CC. "Rabies Control Act" means and refers to California Health and Safety Code Section 1900 and sections following governing the identification, quarantine and control of rabid animals.
(Ord. 2349 NCS §1 (part), 2009: Ord. 2185 NCS §2 (part), 2004.)
9.04.030 Duties and powers of animal control officers.
A. Animal control officers shall exercise all powers and have all the duties of public officers, as is provided in Section 836.5 of the California Penal Code, and shall have the power to arrest a person without warrant when such officer has reasonable cause to believe that such person has committed a violation of this title, or any other provision of this code, the Petaluma zoning ordinance or the laws of this state relating to the care, control and keeping of animals. Animal control officers may arrest any person upon a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. Animal control officers shall enforce all the provisions of Title 9, and any other provisions of this code, the Petaluma zoning ordinance, or the laws of this state relating to the care, control and keeping of animals and investigate complaints of violations thereof. Animal control officers are authorized to issue warnings or citations of the aforesaid ordinances and state laws.
C. Animal control officers shall enforce the California Rabies Control Act and provisions of this title relating to rabies control.
D. Animal control officers shall assist in the operation of Petaluma animal services. This section shall not, however, prevent the city council from contracting with an organization for the operation of animal services on such terms and subject to such conditions as the city council determines.
E. Animal control officers shall issue all licenses and permits, and collect all fees and charges as authorized by this title.
F. Animal control officers may seize, impound, and humanely destroy any animal when authorized by provisions of this title or the laws of this state relating to the care, control and keeping of animals.
(Ord. 2185 NCS §2 (part), 2004.)
9.04.040 Right of entry for enforcement.
For the purposes of enforcement of the ordinances and laws specified in Section 9.04.030(B), an animal control officer may seek entry upon private property. If the property is occupied, the animal control officer shall identify himself/herself, request entry, and explain the reasons thereof. If the property appears to be unoccupied, the animal control officer shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or occupant thereof. The animal control officer may enter property, without first securing a warrant, under the following circumstances and conditions:
A. When authorized by the laws of this state;
B. With the express permission of the owner or occupant of the property;
C. When there is probable cause to believe that any rabid animal is present upon the property and there is an immediate hazard to the animal, other animals or the public safety;
D. When there is probable cause to believe that the keeping or maintaining of the animal on the private property is so hazardous or dangerous as to require immediate inspection and/or impoundment of the animal to safeguard the safety of the animal, other animals or the public safety;
E. When in the hot pursuit of an animal:
1. When the animal has been running at large on any highway or road or other public property, or on private property and the owner thereof has requested that the animal be apprehended,
2. When any dog is trespassing on private property and is liable to cause damage to livestock, other animals or other property,
3. Provided, that if consent is denied for entrance on the property by the owner or occupant thereof, the animal control officer shall obtain a warrant as specified in subsection (F) of this section. If the owner or occupant of the property cannot be located to obtain his consent for entrance on the property, nothing in this subsection shall authorize the entry into a dwelling as defined in the Petaluma zoning ordinance, except in accordance with subsection (F) of this section;
F. Except as authorized in subsections (A) through (E) of this section, the animal control officer may enter upon private property only upon obtaining an inspection warrant as authorized by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1822.50, et seq., or a search warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction authorizing the entry.
(Ord. 2185 NCS §2 (part), 2004.)
9.04.050 Failure of a motorist to render aid to an injured animal.
Any person who, while operating a motor vehicle, knowingly injures an animal must do all of the following. Failure to render aid as follows shall be a violation of this chapter.
A. Immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as safely possible; and
B. Immediately report the accident to Petaluma animal services or the Petaluma police department, and provide information to the extent known regarding the type of animal injured, the extent of injuries sustained by the animal, and the location of the animal.
(Ord. 2349 NCS §1 (part), 2009.)