A Bylaw to provide for the control of Dogs within the boundaries of Anmore
WHEREAS pursuant to Sections 705 and 707 of the Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, the Council of the Village of Anmore may provide for the control of dogs, the licensing of dogs, the impounding of dogs, the operation of a pound, regulate and fix fines and provide for the adoption or destruction of dogs impounded where fines have not been paid.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Village of Anmore in open meeting assembled ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: -
PART 1 - TITLE
1. This bylaw may be cited as “Anmore Dog Control Bylaw No. 270-2000".
PART 2 - INTERPRETATION
2. For the purpose of this bylaw, the following words and terms shall have the meaning hereby assigned to them, with appropriate changes in number or gender as required by the context:
“Council” means the Council of the Village of Anmore;
“dog” means a dog apparently over the age of four months;
“dog shelter” means any erection, house, kennel, building or structure in which
dogs are kept or harboured;
“impounded” means seized, delivered, received or taken into the Pound or into the custody of the Pound Keeper pursuant to this bylaw;
“incurable disease” means any disease, sickness, injury or mutilation, which will inevitably result in death, including without limitation, rabies;
“keeping” means owning, possessing, having the care, custody or control of, or harbouring;
“municipality” means the Village of Anmore;
“nuisance dog” means any dog that is not on the premises of its owner(s) and is not on a leash that disturbs other residents in the community.
“officer” means any person appointed by Council as a bylaw enforcement officer or bylaw inspector and includes any policy officer or bylaw inspector and includes any police officer;
“owner” means any person:
(a) who owns, is in possession of or has the care, custody or control of a dog; and
(b) who harbours or allows a dog to remain about his house, land or premises;
“pound” means the building or enclosure designated by the Council as a place for the impoundment of animals pursuant to section 4 of this bylaw;
“Pound Keeper” means the person appointed by Council as the Pound Keeper for the Municipality under section 5 of this bylaw, and includes any assistant
Pound Keeper or any delegate of the Pound Keeper;
“run at large” means in reference to a dog that is not on the premises of its owner and is neither secured on a leash while off the property of its owner, or, under direct control of the owner while off the property;
“vicious dog” means any dog, which without provocation has bitten another domestic animal or human;
PART 3 - VICIOUS DOGS
3.1 (a) No person shall own or keep a vicious dog unless it is confined indoors, or confined in a securely enclosed and locked dog shelter constructed to prevent the escape of the vicious dog and constructed so as to prevent the entry of young children.
(b) A dog shelter for a vicious dog shall have secure sides and a secure top and if it has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be imbedded in the ground to a minimum depth of one foot.
PART 4 - THE POUND
4.1 The Pound is hereby established which shall be the Coquitlam Shelter of the B.C. S.P.C.A., Vancouver Regional Branch.
PART 5 - THE POUNDKEEPER
5.1 The Pound Keeper for the Municipality shall be the Coquitlam Shelter of the B.C. S.P.C.A., Vancouver Regional Branch.
Duties of the Pound Keeper
5.2 Upon receiving a specific complaint about a vicious dog, the Pound Keeper shall impound the dog.
5.3 Upon receiving a specific complaint about a nuisance dog, the Pound Keeper shall impound the dog.
5.4 The Pound Keeper may seize any dog found running at large in the municipality elsewhere than on the premises of the owner.
5.5 The Pound Keeper may seize any dog that does not have a current dog tag attached to the dog collar.
5.6 Upon impounding a dog, the Pound Keeper shall, within a reasonable period of time, inform the owner that the dog has been impounded.
5.7 Where the owner of an impounded dog is unknown to the Pound Keeper, the Pound Keeper shall:
(a) cause a notice of impoundment to be posted on the notice board at the main entrance to the Municipal Hall and at the Pound; and
(b) may cause a notice of impoundment to be published in the local newspaper.
The notice referred to in Section 5.4 shall include a description of the dog which has been impounded and shall specify the place where, and the time when, the dog will be sold or destroyed if not previously reclaimed, which time shall be not less than seven clear days after the date on which the notice was published or posted.
5.8 Where the Pound Keeper posts the notice in accordance with Section 5.4 (a), he shall be deemed to have informed the owner of the impounded dog as required by Section 5.3.
5.9 The Pound Keeper shall retain any impounded dog for a period of 14 days, and if such dog is not reclaimed within the 14 days, the Pound Keeper may at his discretion:
(a) allow its adoption by any person by means of a sale or auction; or
(b) destroy the dog.
Control of Dogs
5.10 No owner shall allow his or her dog to run at large in the Municipality.
5.11 Every owner having the custody, care or control of any dog shall keep the dog from trespassing on private property whether running at large or on a leash.
Impoundment Fees
5.12 The owner of any impounded licensed dog may reclaim the dog at any time prior to its sale or destruction by paying the following fees to the Pound:
(a) an impounding fee of $50.00 for the first offence, $100.00 for the second offence and $150.00 for the third offence.
(b) A custodial fee of $10.00 per day in addition to the above noted impounding fee.
5.13 The owner of any impounded non-licensed dog may reclaim the dog at any time prior to its sale or destruction by paying the following fees to the Pound:
(a) an impounding fee of $100.00 for the first offence, $200.00 for the second offence and $300.00 for the third offence.
(b) A custodial fee of $10.00 per day in addition to the above noted impounding fee.
Destruction of Diseased Dogs
5.14 The Pound Keeper may at the end of the holding period as set out in Section 5.6, seize and destroy any dog suffering from an incurable disease.
Destruction of Vicious Dogs
5.15 Where the Pound Keeper or officer finds a dog attacking or viciously pursuing a person or a domestic animal, he may destroy the dog, if necessary to prevent injury.
Prohibitions
5.16 No person shall take or rescue or attempt to take or rescue any dog that is in the lawful custody of the Pound Keeper.
5.17 No person shall resist or interfere with the Pound Keeper in the performance of his duties under this bylaw.
PART 6 – LICENCING OF DOGS
6.1 No person shall keep or have in his/her possession, care or control within the Village of Anmore any dog over six months of age, unless a licence pursuant to the provisions of this bylaw has been obtained.
6.2 The owner of any a dog shall, in each calendar year on or before the first day of March, in each year, or as soon thereafter as such a dog attains the age of six months, make application for a license for that dog in the form required by the Municipality and pay a license fee to the Municipality as outlined in section 6.4.
6.3 Upon receipt of a duly completed application and the license fee, the Municipality shall issue to the owner a dog tag stamped with the applicable license number.
6.4 The Municipality shall keep a record of all dog licenses issued and, for the purposes of identification, a general description of each dog.
6.5 No person shall keep, harbour or possess any dog within the Municipality unless a license has been obtained for the dog and a dog tag is at all times attached to the dog.
6.6 Each dog licence shall include a initial licence fee of;
(a) neutered or spade dog $25.00 per dog
(b) non-neutered or non-spade dog $35.00 per dog
6.7 There shall be an annual dog license renewal fee of $10.00 for both neutered/spade and non-neutered/non-spade dogs.
6.8 No person shall keep or own any dog unless it has been licensed as outlined above and a tag has been obtained and attached in some fashion to the dog.
6.9 An owner may obtain replacement dog tags from the Municipality where the orginal dog tags have been lost, stolen or otherwise rendered unusable, upon payment of a fee of $10.00 to the Municipality, provided the owner held a valid license for that dog.
6.10 A dog license is not transferable and becomes null and void where the owner sells or otherwise ceases to be the owner of the dog. A dog license shall not be transferred from one dog to another.
6.11 Every new owner of a dog shall obtain a new dog license within ten (10) days of acquiring ownership.
PART 7 – PENALTY
7.1 Every person who contravenes or violates any provision of this bylaw, or who suffers or permits any act or thing to be done in contravention or violation of any provision of this bylaw, or who neglects to do or refrains from doing anything required to be done by any provision of this bylaw, commits an offence and, upon summary conviction therefore, shall be liable to a fine of not more than provided by the Offence Act.
PART 8 – REPEAL
8.1 That Anmore Dog Control Bylaw No. 192-1996 and all amendments thereto are hereby repealed.