Cross-reference:
Animals damaging park property, see §93.04
For the purpose of this sub-chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84)
(A) It shall be unlawful for a dog to run at large or to be a public nuisance, and the owner of the dog shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter if the dog is found to be in violation.
(B) All dogs taken up and impounded under this section shall be held in an adequate and sanitary pound. Any dog so impounded shall be held for at least five days from the date of the impounding before being destroyed or otherwise disposed of. After any dog is impounded, the owner will be notified, or, if the owner of the dog is unknown, written notice shall be posted for three days at three conspicuous places in the city describing the dog and the place and time of taking. If the owner appears and redeems the dog, he shall pay, in amounts as established by resolution of the City Council, an impoundment fee and in addition a sum for each day, or part thereof, the dog was impounded, this fee being the actual cost of boarding the animal at the pound. The boarding fee will not be assessed for the first day of impoundment if the dog is taken after 8:00 pm. If no owner appears and redeems the dog within five days from its impounding or five days from the date the owner was notified or notices were posted, or if the dog was impounded as a public nuisance for killing or seriously injuring a person, it shall be killed in a humane manner; except that if, in the opinion of the Chief of Police, the dog is not dangerous and can be safely kept, the Chief of Police may release the dog to any responsible person upon receiving assurance that the person will properly care for the dog and not allow it to become a nuisance, and upon payment of a sum of money as established by resolution of the City Council, plus the cost of keeping during its impounding. The person shall thereafter be liable as owner of the dog.
(C) Notwithstanding the provisions of division (B) of this section, any dog impounded for biting a person shall be held for not less than ten days before redemption or destruction to determine if the dog is rabid.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84; Am. Ord. 1613, passed 10-27-86)
It shall be unlawful for the owner to keep or maintain any dog unless it shall have been vaccinated by a licensed veterinary surgeon with anti-rabies vaccine within one year of the date on which the dog is kept or maintained.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84) Penalty, see §90.99
A dog is a public nuisance if it:
(A) Bites or attempts to bite a person;
(B) Chases vehicles or persons;
(C) Attacks other dogs;
(D) Damages or destroys property of persons other than the owner of the dog;
(E) Scatters refuse;
(F) Habitually trespasses on private property of persons other than the owner of the dog;
(G) Disturbs any person by frequent or prolonged noises; or
(H) Is a female in heat and running at large.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84) Penalty, see §90.99
A dog shall not be considered a public nuisance if he bites a person wrongfully assaulting the dog or the dog's owner, or if he bites a person trespassing upon premises occupied by the dog's owner after being provoked by that person.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84)
(A) Every person owning or keeping any dog which has a set of permanent canine teeth shall, not later than March 1 of each year or within 30 days after he becomes owner or keeper of the dog, procure from the Finance Director/Recorder a license for the dog by paying to the Finance Director/Recorder a license fee. The license fee shall be in an amount as established by resolution of the City Council for each dog, except that the fee shall not be greater than a lesser amount as established by resolution of the City Council for each spayed female or neutered male dog for which a veterinarian's certificate of operation for the spaying or neutering of the dog is presented to the Finance Director/Recorder. If the person fails to procure the license within the time provided by this section, an additional penalty in a sum established by resolution of the City Council for each dog shall be assessed.
(B) The Finance Director/Recorder shall at the time of issuing the license and as a part thereof supply the licensee, without charge, with a suitable tag having legibly stamped with dies across one side thereof, to wit: year license issued, license No. and to be imprinted with “City of Hermiston, OR.” The tag shall be fastened by the licensee to a collar and kept on the dog at all times when not in the immediate possession of the licensee. The license fee shall be the only license or tax required for the ownership or keeping of a dog within the city.
(C) This section does not apply to dogs owned by dealers, breeders or exhibitors where they are kept in kennels exclusively for sale or exhibition purposes, or while the dogs are being transported by dealers, breeders or exhibitors to and from a dog show or fair. No license shall be required for the dogs kept for these purposes until they are sold or otherwise disposed of to another person.
(D) No license shall be required to be paid for any dog owned by a blind person who uses it as a guide. A license shall be issued for the dog upon filing with the Finance Director/Recorder an affidavit by the blind person showing the dog to come within this requirement.
(E) The Finance Director/Recorder shall keep a record of dog licenses in a special book for such purposes.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84)
(A) When a dog habitually runs at large and is so elusive, or when a dog shows obvious symptoms of being rabid, or if a dog cannot be impounded without grave risk, or if the dog is badly injured and suffering, the police officer may destroy the animal in the safest, most humane way available.
(B) When a dog has been found by the judge, in a judicial proceeding, to be of vicious temperament, the judge may order the destruction of the animal either by the owner or by the pound authorities should the dog have been impounded. Destruction will be performed in a humane manner and at the expense of the owner of the animal.
(Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84; Am. Ord. 1613, passed 10-27-86)
(A) Anyone who violates any provision of this chapter for which another penalty is not specifically provided commits a Class A violation. (Ord. 4, passed 8-7-07; Ord. 1503, passed 3-26-84; Am. Ord. 1632, passed 6-22-87; Am. Ord. 1976, passed 10-26-98)
(B) Whoever violates §§90.03 through 90.05 commits a Class A violation. Any person who shall attempt to commit any of the offenses mentioned in §§90.03 through 90.05, but who for any reason is prevented from consummating the act, shall be guilty of an offense of attempt to commit as to that offense.
(Ord. 1976, passed 10-26-98)