Below is the Ordinance that we are working so very hard on to make Morgan County a safer place!! PLEASE SHARE!! Help me show my son that he can make a difference!! AN ORDINANCE OF MORGAN COUNTY, STATE OF WEST VIRTGINIA, RELATING TO CONTROL OF DANGEROUS OR VICIOUS DOGS The members of the Morgan County Commission on this the _____ day of _________________, 2014, do hereby ORDER that the vicious dogs are a public nuisance and, as such, they are under the jurisdiction of this body. Accordingly, the County Commission of Morgan County, West Virginia, pursuant to the provisions of 7-1-3kk, code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, hereby orders: Vicious/Dangerous Dogs Pursuant to the provisions of West Virginia Code § 7-1-3kk, the Commission finds and declares that vicious and/or dangerous dogs are a public nuisance. Definitions 1. A dangerous or vicious dog shall be defined to mean: a. A dog that: 2. Without provocation has killed or inflicted injury on a person; or 3. Killed or inflicted severe injury upon a domestic animal, horse or livestock, when not on the offending dog owner’s real property; or 4. Approached a person when not on the offending dog owner’s property in a vicious or terrorizing manner, in an apparent attitude of attack, as determined by the Chief Animal Control Officer of his or her designee, upon the sworn affidavit of, at least, two eye witnesses. b. Any dog owned or harboured primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting, or any dog trained for dog fighting. 2.Owner shall mean any person or legal entity that has a possessory property right in a dog. 3.Owners’ real property shall mean any real property owned or leased by the owner or owners of the dog, but does not include any public right-of-way or a common area of a condominium, apartment complex, townhouse or subdivision development. 4. Severe injury shall mean any physical injury that results in broken bones or disfiguring lacerations or which required surgery or hospitalization. 5. Injury shall mean any breaking of the skin, which results in bleeding, caused by bite. Officers’ Responsibilities The Supervising Animal Control Officer of Morgan County, his or her designee, is hereby designated as the person responsible for initially determining when a dog is a dangerous or vicious dog. Such Animal Control Officer may not be able to make such determination early in his/her investigation. The Officer may seize an offending dog before making that determination, if it appears that the definitional requisites exist for such determination. The Officer may use his/her full discretion in making a determination before it is communicated. Notwithstanding the existence of the definitional requisites of a determination of vicious/dangerous, the Officer may, after appropriate observation at the Animal Control Facilities, determine that the dog is not vicious/dangerous but, rather, that the act of the dog was an anomaly and not the act of a vicious/dangerous animal. Such determination shall not be open to dispute through this Ordinance. Any determination that a dog is vicious or dangerous shall be communicated by the Supervising Animal Control Officer, his or her designee, to the dog owner in writing, giving the reasons for such determination. Initial Appeal of Vicious/Dangerous Determination Appeal of this determination shall be to the County Commission through a five member body to be known as the Nuisance Appeal Board. Such Board shall be appointed by the Commission and its members shall serve terms of three years. They shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Commission and without compensation. Such appeal must be in writing and must be received by the County Commission within three business days of service of the reasons for the determination. The Commission shall immediately notify the Nuisance Appeal Board that an appeal has been filed. The Board Chair or Vice Chair shall schedule an appeal proceeding to hear the evidence with regard to the determination made by the Animal Control Officer that the dog is vicious or dangerous and to decide the legitimacy of that determination. Such appeal shall be heard within ten working days of receipt of such written appeal and shall be memorialized by electronic recordation. The Board shall communicate its recommendation to the owner of the dog and to the County Commission upon completion of the appeal proceeding Should the Nuisance Appeal Board find that the Animal Control Officer’s Determination should not prevail, the seized dog shall be returned to the owner forthwith and no appeal of such decision shall be heard. Mid-Level Appeal of Board’s Affirmation of Officer’s Determination Should the Nuisance Appeal Board affirm the Animal Control Officer’s Determination that the dog in question is vicious/dangerous, the dog owner may appeal to the Commission. Such appeal must be submitted in writing to the Commission office within five days of receipt of the Nuisance Appeal Board’s affirmation. The Commission shall review the record of the hearing held by the Nuisance Appeal Board and may take any evidence it deems appropriate. The Commission shall adopt or reject, in its discretion, the recommendation of the Nuisance Appeal Board. Appeal of Commission’s Decision to Circuit Court Such decision of the County Commission shall be considered a final order and shall be appealable, by the owner of the dog, to the circuit court. The petition for appeal must be filed with the circuit court within four months of the entry of the final order of the Commission. If such appeal is allowed, it shall be heard and a decision made thereon upon the original record of the proceeding, all as defined in West Virginia Code 58-3-4 and 5. Any person eligible to file an appeal hereunder may sign a waiver of appeal if they decide not to file such appeal. In that case, the dog shall be put down and no additional costs will accrue to that person. Disposition of Dog Following Final Determination Any dog finally determined, at any point, to be vicious or dangerous shall be disposed of by the Animal Control Office in the same manner as such officer disposes of other dogs, except that vicious or dangerous dogs may not be made available to the public through adoption. Provided, That the Commission may find that the vicious/dangerous dog should not be euthanized but, rather, may Order that, in order to avoid the killing of the dog, the owner must meet certain requirements, including but, not limited to, payment of any and all medical and/or veterinary costs incurred as a result of vicious act; neutering of the dog; professional training of the dog; micro chipping of the dog; securely confining the dog according to the specifications of the Animal Control Office; ordering the dog permanently removed from the County; and/or licensing the dog as a Vicious Dog, pursuant to West Virginia Code 19-20-21. Exceptions No police dog, which was engaged in the performance of its duties at the time of the acts complained of, shall be found to be a dangerous or vicious dog. No dog shall be found to be a dangerous or vicious dog solely because of its breed, nor is a particular breed of dog precluded from being determined to be vicious/dangerous. No dog shall be found to be a dangerous or vicious dog if the bite, attack or injury was sustained by a person who was (i) committing at the time a crime upon the premises occupied by the dog’s owner; (ii) committing, at the time, a willful trespass or other tort upon the premises occupied by the dog’s owner; or (iii) provoking, tormenting, or physically abusing the dog. If, in the discretion of the Supervising Animal Control Officer, or his or her designee, a dog cannot safely be captured and detained, and the same has been determined by the Animal Control Officer to be vicious or dangerous, either definitionally or following full investigatory observation, the Animal Control Officer is authorized to take immediate and, if necessary, lethal action, against such dog notwithstanding the fact that no written notice has been communicated to the owner of the dog and that no hearing into said determination has been requested or held. Costs of Disposition in Vicious/Dangerous Designation Cases When dogs are finally determined to be vicious or dangerous and, therefore, a nuisance, all costs of disposition, including legal fees, housing of the dog during the legal proceedings, termination of the dog’s life and administrative costs expended by the County shall be reimbursed. Additionally, the owner of any dog finally found to be vicious shall pay any and all medical and/or veterinary costs, including costs for disposition of the bodies of pets which have died or been put down as a result of attack by such vicious or dangerous dog. Penalties The Supervising Animal Control Officer, or his or her designee, shall cite the owner of any dog finally determined to be vicious or dangerous and the dog owner shall be fined a maximum of $100.00 for the first offense; for subsequent offenses, such fine shall be a minimum of $300.00, and shall not exceed $1000.00. Time Lines Notwithstanding any other provision of any county ordinance or state statute to the contrary, the detention of any dog designated, pursuant to the provisions of this Ordinance, as vicious or dangerous, shall include all time necessary for the conclusion of all appeals to be finalized. The effective date of this Ordinance is the _____ day of ______________, 2014. _____________________________ Bradley Close, President _____________________________ Stacy Dugan, Commissioner ______________________________ Robert Ford, Commissioner ATTEST: ___________________________ Debra Kesecker, County Clerk 4
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:24:15 +0000
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