§ 5-23.2. Irresponsible dog owners.

(a)

A person shall be designated as an "irresponsible dog owner" upon being found guilty, more than once, of (i) violating Sections 5-20, 5-21, 5-22, 5-23, or 5-23.1 of this code or (ii) committing upon a dog an act deemed cruelty to animals in violation of Section 5-4 of this code. For purposes of this section, "found guilty" means that a citation for such violation has been issued and either the citation has not been appealed or, if the citation is appealed, the action of the code enforcement officer has been affirmed on appeal. The designation shall take effect on the later of (i) the date that the time to appeal an enforcement action expires or (ii) the date a decision affirming the enforcement action is rendered.

(b)

An irresponsible dog owner shall be prohibited from acquiring, owning, keeping, or harboring additional dogs for a period of 3 years after being so designated. Upon a subsequent violation of any of the provisions listed in subsection (a) above, an irresponsible dog owner shall be prohibited from acquiring, owning, keeping, or harboring additional dogs for a period of 5 years after being found guilty of the subsequent violation.

(c)

An irresponsible dog owner may be required to surrender to the Department all the dogs he owns, keeps, or harbors upon designation or after subsequent violations. The Director is hereby authorized to institute appropriate proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction to effectuate the seizure of the dogs.

(Ord. No. 12-77, § 7, 10-2-12)