Susanville Indian Rancheria [Ordinances]

TRIBAL ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE

(1) "At Large" shall mean an animal that is allowed to roam freely about the Rancheria and is not under restraint by leash.

(2) "Owner" shall mean a person who possesses, has title to or an interest in, harbors, or has control, custody, or possession of an animal.

(3) "Vicious Animal" shall mean any animal that has attacked any person or any other animal without provocation by such person or animal.

F. Prohibitions.

(1) Animals running at large. No owner shall permit his or her animal, wild or domestic, except a domestic cat, to run at large on the Susanville Indian Rancheria. No dog shall be permitted within any Susanville Indian Rancheria Park.

(2) Noise. No owner shall permit his or her animal to habitually make a loud noise or act in such a manner as to constitute a public nuisance.

(3) Trespassing. No owner shall permit his or her animal, except a domestic cat, to trespass on any property on the Susanville Indian Rancheria, without the consent of the owner of the property.

(4) Vaccinations. No owner shall have a dog on the Susanville Indian Rancheria unless such dog has been vaccinated against rabies, at such intervals as prescribed by the State Department of Health.

(5) Vicious Animals. No person shall keep, harbor or maintain an animal determined to be vicious because this situation presents a serious hazard within the Susanville Indian Rancheria which is compounded by the increasing tendency to maintain animals which, by virtue of breeding and training, have a propensity to attack others.

G. Regulations.

Section 1: Dogs - Exceptions.

A. No owner shall permit his or her dog to be in any residential, commercial or industrial area of the Rancheria, unless the dog is restrained by a leash not exceeding eight (8) feet in length.

B. No dog shall be left completely enclosed in a parked vehicle without adequate ventilation, or in such a way as to subject the dog to temperatures that would affect the dog's health and welfare.

C. Exceptions: A working dog, performing acts such as herding under the control and supervision of its owner/handler shall not be considered at large while performing its duties. A hunting, obedience, tracking or show dog shall not be considered at large while performing in those capacities.

Section 2: Impounding.

A. It shall be the duty of the animal control officer to apprehend any vicious dog, and any dog or dogs running at large or in violation of this ordinance and to impound such dog or dogs in the shelter designated by the city, to be confined in a humane manner for a period of not less than five days ((one hundred twenty (120) hours)), except as otherwise provided in Penal Code 597f. The animal control officer, upon receiving any dog, shall make a complete registry, entering breed, color, and sex of such dog and whether licensed. If licensed, the name and address of the registered owner and the number of the license tag shall also be entered in the registry.

B. When dogs are found running at large, and their ownership is known to the animal control officer, such dogs need not be impounded, but the animal control officer may, in his or her discretion, cite the owners of such dogs to appear before the Tribal Business Council to answer the charges of violation of this ordinance.

C. No dog shall be impounded (surrendered) by the owner unless the owner signs a release form and pays a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per dog; said fees are for the purpose of offsetting the cost of administration and providing care to the dog and destruction if adoption does not occur.

Section 3: Notice to owner and redemption.

A. Not later than twenty-four (24) hours after the impounding of any dog, the registered owner shall be notified by the United States mail, or if said owner of the dog is unknown, written notice shall be posted not later than twenty-four (24) hours after impounding, for three days at the Susanville Indian Rancheria Tribal Office, the Lassen Indian Health Clinic and the Susanville Indian Rancheria Housing Authority Office, describing the dog and the place and time of taking. The owner of any dog so impounded or an adoptive owner, may claim (redeem) such dog upon payment of all costs incurred by the Susanville Indian Rancheria for impounding and maintenance of said dog. The following charges shall be paid:

(1) A service charge for impoundment in the sum of twenty dollars ($20.00), plus five dollars ($5.00) per day for each day or fraction thereof such dog is kept, beginning with the day of impoundment; provided, however, that in the event that the subject dog has been impounded by the City of Susanville during the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the present impoundment, the service charge shall be increased to forty dollars ($40.00) for the second impoundment, and sixty ($60.00) for the third or subsequent impoundment occurring during said twelve (12) month period. No dog may be redeemed by any owner unless such owner produces a certificate of a licensed veterinarian that such dog has been vaccinated with antirabies vaccine within the preceding twenty-four (24) month period; provided, that any such owner shall have the right, consistent with the other provisions of this section, prior to such redemption, and at his or her own cost and expense to have a licensed veterinarian vaccinate such impounded dog. The City of Susanville shall reimburse these fees to the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

Section 4: Disposition of unclaimed or infected dogs.

A. It shall be the duty of the poundmaster to keep all dogs so impounded for a period of five days ((one hundred twenty (120) hours)) after written notice is sent to the last known address of the registered owner.

B. If at the expiration of the said time period from the date of the notice to the owner or from the first posting of such notice, such dog has not have been redeemed, it may be destroyed or given to an adoptive home.

C. Any dog suffering from rabies, or infected with hydrophobia, mange or other infectious or dangerous disease, shall not be released, but may be immediately destroyed without any waiting period requirement.

Section 5: Unclaimed dogs not for scientific purposes.

A. No dogs or dogs remaining unclaimed and held by the poundmaster for the City of Susanville shall be sold, surrendered or given to any hospital or institution of learning for scientific purposes under any circumstance whatsoever, nor shall any official of the City of Susanville or Susanville Indian Rancheria nor any other person have any power or authority to so sell, surrender or give any dog herein mentioned to any hospital or institution of learning for scientific purposes.

Section 6: Dangerous or vicious dogs.

A. A dog impounded as a vicious dog and unclaimed, shall be subject to the disposition provided in Section 4. A dog impounded as a "vicious dog", and thereafter claimed by its owner, shall not be released except on order of the Tribal Business Council on disposition of any citations or complaint for violation of this ordinance which caused such impoundment.

B. The fees and charges for release of any dog impounded and held over as a vicious dog shall be as set out above and for all days the dog has been impounded in all cases, except that if the release from impoundment is by reason of an order from the Tribal Business Council, the fees and charges shall be as set out above, but the service charge shall be limited to five days.

C. If any dangerous, fierce, or vicious dog so found at large cannot safely be taken up and impounded, such dog may be slain by any police officer.

Section 7: Rabies control.

A. Every dog which bites a person shall be promptly reported to the animal control officer and shall thereupon be securely quarantined at the direction of the animal control officer for a period of ten (10) days, and shall not be released from such quarantine except by written permission of the animal control officer. At the discretion of the animal control officer, such quarantine may be on the premises of the owner, at the shelter designated by the Susanville Indian Rancheria, or at the owner's option and expense, in a veterinary hospital of the owner's choice. In the case of stray animals, or in the case of animals whose ownership is not known, such quarantine shall be at the shelter designated by the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

B. The owner, upon demand made by the animal control officer, shall forthwith surrender any dog which has bitten a human or which is suspected as having been exposed to rabies, for supervised quarantine, which expense shall be borne by the owner, and may be reclaimed by the owner if adjudged free of rabies, upon payment of fees set forth in Section 3.

C. When a dog under quarantine has been diagnosed as being rabid, and dies while under such observation, the animal control officer shall immediately send the head of such animal to the State Health Department for pathological examination, and shall notify the proper public health officer of reports of human contacts, and the diagnosis made of the suspected animal.

D. No person shall kill, or cause to be killed, any rabid animal, rabid dog, or any animal suspected of having been exposed to rabies, or any animal biting a human, except as herein provided, nor remove same from the Susanville Indian Rancheria without the written permission of the animal control officer.

E. The carcass of any dead dog exposed to rabies shall, upon demand, be surrendered to the animal control officer.

F. The animal control officer shall direct the disposition of any dog found to be infected with rabies.

G. No person shall fail or refuse to surrender any dog for quarantine or destruction, as required herein, when demand is made therefor by the animal control officer.

Section 8: Adoption - Sterilization.

A. Dogs subject to disposition may be sold if the sale of any such dog is not contrary to law, or to the public interest. Dogs may not be sold for purposes other than keeping as pets, and may not be sold without first having been licensed by the City of Susanville and vaccinated against rabies, and all applicable fees hereunder having been paid. No dog shall be released for adoption without being spayed or neutered, unless a deposit for spaying or neutering the dog has been paid by the adopter. The minimum deposit to be so paid shall be equal to the lesser of the lowest fee charged by veterinarians within Lassen County or the sum of thirty dollars ($30.00). The deposit shall be returned to the adopter provided that the adopter presents a written statement or receipt from the veterinarian or clinic that the dog has been spayed or neutered within sixty (60) days from the date of adoption.

B. Use of any deposit not claimed under subsection (a) of this section shall be limited to the following:

(1) Public education program to prevent overpopulation of dogs and cats;

(2) A program to spay or neuter dogs and cats;

(3) For follow-up programs to assure spaying and neutering are being performed; and

(4) Any additional costs incurred under this section.

Section 9: Violation.

A. The Animal Control Officer may, in his or her discretion, cite the owner of any animal to appear before the Tribal Business Council to answer the charges of violation of any provision of this ordinance.

CERTIFICATION

We, hereby certify that the Susanville Indian Rancheria Animal Control Ordinance was adopted by the Susanville Indian Rancheria Tribal Business Council at a duly called meeting held March 26, 2001 with a vote of 5 for, 0 against, 0 abstain.

ATTEST;

          /s/                                                                            /s/          
Doyle Lowry                                                             Ike Lowry
Secretary/Treasurer                                                   Tribal Chairman

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