§ 6-43. Animal care.

(a)

Owner's duty to provide food, shelter, and care. No owner shall fail to provide his animals with sufficient, good and wholesome food and water, adequate shelter and protection from weather, veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering, and with human care and treatment.

(b)

Abusing animals prohibited. No person shall beat, cruelly ill treat, torment, mentally abuse, overload, overwork, or otherwise abuse an animal, or cause, instigate, or permit any dog fight, cock fight, bull fight, or other combat between animals or between animal and humans.

(c)

Abandoning animals prohibited. No person shall abandon an animal in his custody.

(d)

Giving of live animals as prizes or inducements prohibited. No person shall give away any live animal as a prize for or as an inducement to enter any contest, game, or other competition or any inducement to enter a place of business or offer such animal as an incentive to enter into any business agreement whereby the offer was for the purpose of attraction trade.

(e)

Striking animal with vehicle. Any person who, as the operator of a motor vehicle, strikes a domestic animal shall immediately report such injury or death to the animal's owner. In the event the owner cannot be ascertained and located, such operator shall at once report the accident to the appropriate law enforcement agency or the local humane society.

(f)

Poisoning or trapping animals prohibited. No person shall expose any known poisonous substance, whether mixed with food or not, so that the same shall be liable to be eaten by any domestic animal or person. This subsection is not intended to prohibit the prudent use of herbicides, insecticides, or rodent control materials. No person shall expose a metal jaw type trap that shall be liable to injure any domestic animal or person.

(g)

Vehicle confinement.

(1)

A person shall not place or confine an animal or allow an animal to be placed or confined in a motor vehicle or in a trailer under such conditions or for such a period of time as may endanger the health of the animal due to heat, lack of food or water, or such other circumstances as may cause injury or death to the animal.

(2)

It is presumed that an animal's health, safety, or welfare is endangered when the animal is confined in a parked or standing vehicle, without the engine running or climate control system engaged, or in a trailer for a period of five minutes or more when the ambient outside air temperature measures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit or below 35 degrees Fahrenheit. It shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this ordinance when the ambient outside air temperature is verified through the Saginaw Fire Department.

(3)

If an animal services officer or police officer investigating this situation determines the animal in question must be removed from the vehicle immediately or risk damage or injury to the health, safety, or welfare of the animal, the animal services officer or police officer may use reasonable force to remove the animal from the vehicle. Appropriate intervention shall be administered to the animal immediately, with all associated costs being the responsibility of the person having care or custody of the animal and who is responsible for the confinement in the vehicle or trailer.

(4)

It shall be the responsibility of the person having care or custody of the animal, who placed or confined the animal in the vehicle or trailer, to repair any damage resulting from the use of reasonable force to intervene on behalf of the animal.

(h)

Tethering.

(1)

A person commits an offense if he uses a chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device to attach a dog to a stationary object or trolley system. This section does not prohibit a person from walking a dog with a hand held leash.

(2)

It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:

a.

The dog is being tethered during a lawful animal event, veterinary treatment, grooming, training, or law enforcement activity;

b.

The dog tethering is required to protect the safety or welfare of a person or the dog, and the dog's owner maintains direct physical control of the dog;

c.

The dog tethering is due to force majeure and the dog is tethered for less than one hour within a 24 hour period; or

d.

The dog tethering:

i.

Occurs while the dog is within the owner's direct physical control; and

ii.

Prevents the dog from advancing to the edge of any public right of way.

(3)

The defenses under this section are only available if the following specifications are met:

a.

The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device is attached to a properly fitted collar or harness worn by the dog;

b.

The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device is not placed directly around the dog's neck;

c.

The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device not does exceed one twentieth of the dog's body weight;

d.

The chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device, by design and placement allows the dog a reasonable and unobstructed range of motion without entanglement; and

e.

The dog has access to adequate shelter and clean and wholesome water.

(Ord. No. 2004-02, § 12, 4-6-04; Ord. No. 2015-11, §§ 1, 2, 11-17-15)