(a) No person shall knowingly sell, offer for sale, breed,
possess, buy, or attempt to buy a dangerous animal within the City
of Lubbock, unless such animal has been permitted pursuant to this
chapter.
(b) No person shall knowingly own, harbor, sell or
offer for sale any animal which is to be used for the purpose of
fighting, or to be trained, tormented, badgered or baited for the
purpose of causing or encouraging said animal to attack human
beings or domestic animals when not provoked, except this section
shall not apply to guard dogs.
(a) Upon receipt of a written complaint by
any person charging that a particular animal is a dangerous
animal, the public health administrator or his designee shall
conduct a hearing to determine whether such animal is dangerous
unless the matter is resolved by agreement of all parties prior to
such hearing. Such written complaints shall contain at least
the following information:
- Name, address and telephone number of complainants and
witnesses;
- A brief descriptin of the incident or incidents which
cause the complainant to believe such animal is a dangerous
animal, including date, time and location;
- A description of the animal and the name, address and
telephone number of the owner of the animal, if known; and
- Any other facts that the complainant believes to be
important.
(b) Such hearing to determine if an animal is a dangerous
animal shall be conducted within twenty (20) days after receipt of
the complaint or seizure of the animal, whichever occurs
later. Such animal may be seized pursuant to such complaint
and impounded at the owner's expense in the event that the animal
has caused injury to a person requiring medical treatment.
An animal causing such injury may be held pending the outcome of
the hearing and determination of whether such animal is a
dangerous animal.
(c) Notice of such hearings shall be provided by the public
health administrator to the owner of the animal by certified mail,
return receipt requested, and to the complainant by regular
mail. At such hearing all parties shall be given opportunity
to present evidence on the issue of whether such animal is
dangerous.
(d) Upon conclusion of a hearing to determine if an animal is a
dangerous animal, the public health administrator may find that
the animal is not dangerous, in which case it shall be promptly
returned to the owner if it is in custody, or the public health administrator
may find that the animal is a dangerous animal and may order that
the owner comply with one or more of the following
requirements:
- Removal of the dangerous animal from [within] the city
limits;
- Humane destruction of a dangerous animal at the owner's
expense; or
- Spaying or neutering of a dangerous animal at the owner's
expense;
- Registration and compliance with all requirements of this
article, including obtaining liability insurance coverage or
showing financial responsibility in an amount of at least
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) to cover damages
resulting from an attack by the dangerous animal causing
bodily injury to a person or for damages to any person's
property resulting from the keeping of such dangerous
animal. A certificate of insurance or other evidence
of meeting the above requirements shall be filed with the
City of Lubbock Animal Control facility before said
dangerous animal shall be returned to the owner if it is
being held by the City of Lubbock or a veterinarian.
(e) All owners of dangerous animals required to be registered
with the City of Lubbock shall provide the name and address of the
owner; the breed, age, sex, color and any other identifying marks
of the animal; the location where the animal is to be kept if it
is not at the address of the owner; two (2) color photographs of
the dangerous animal; and the aforementioned certificate of
liability insurance.
(f) The owners of permitted dangerous animals shall not allow
the animal to go outside of its cage, pen or enclosure unless the
animal is under physical restraint. No person shall permit a
dangerous animal to be kept outside of its cage, pen or enclosure
on a chain, rope or other type of leash unless a person is in
physical control of the chain, rope or leash. Dangerous
animals shall not be leased to inanimate objects, such as trees,
posts, buildings, etc. All dangerous animals outside their
cage, pen or enclosure must be securely muzzled to prevent the
animal from biting other animals or human beings. A sign
giving notice of a dangerous animal on the premises shall be
prominently displayed by the owner of a dangerous animal at both
front and rear property entrances.
(g) The cage, pen or enclosure for a dangerous animal must have
secure sides; a secure top attached to the sides; and a secure
bottom which is either attached to the sides of the structure must
be embedded in the ground no less than two (2) feet.
(h) In the event that any owner of an animal declared to be
dangerous violates any order of the public health administrator,
the animal may be immediately seized and impounded by the public
health administrator. In addition, the animal shall be
seized immediately if the animal bites, injures or attacks a human
being or another animal. Any animal already declared to be
dangerous which is seized for causing injury to a human being or
another animal may be ordered removed from the city or humanely
destroyed and may not continue to be a registered dangerous
animal.
(i) No animal shall be declared a dangerous animal if the
threat, injury or damage caused by the animal was the result of a
willful trespass upon another's property, or the person injured
was tormenting, abusing or assaulting the animal or its owner, or
was committing or attempting to commit a crime at the time of
injury.
(j) Orders of the public health administrator pertaining to
dangerous animals may be appealed to the City of Lubbock Permit
and License Appeal Board by filing a written notice of appeal
within five (5) days with the city manager's office. During
the pendency of such appeal, the order of the public shall be
suspended, provided that the owner shall [take] the animal to the
Animal Control Facility or to a veterinarian for
observation. Decisions of the permit and license appeal
board shall be final.
(Ord. No. 9485, 1, 11-14-91)
