§ 10-30. Regulations regarding potentially dangerous dogs.

(a)

Determination of potentially dangerous dog. A city animal control officer or other law enforcement official shall determine that a dog is a potentially dangerous dog if the officer believes, based upon the officer's professional judgment, that a dog:

(1)

When unprovoked, inflicts bites on a human or domestic animal on public or private property; or

(2)

When unprovoked, chases or approaches a person, including a person on a bicycle, upon the streets, sidewalks or any public or private property, other than the dog owner's property, in an apparent attitude of attack; or

(3)

Has a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack unprovoked, causing injury or otherwise threatening the safety of humans or domestic animals.

(b)

Notice of potentially dangerous dog. Upon a determination by the animal control authority or law enforcement official that a dog is potentially dangerous, the city shall provide a notice of potentially dangerous dog to the owner of record, or if none, any owner of such dog by personally serving the owner or a person of suitable age at the residence of such owner. Service upon any owner shall be effective as to all owners. The notice shall include the following:

(1)

A description of the dog deemed to be potentially dangerous;

(2)

The factual basis for that determination;

(3)

The identity of officer who has made the determination;

(4)

An order that the owner have a microchip implanted in the dog for identification and provide the city animal control authority with the name of the microchip manufacturer and the serial identification number of the microchip implanted within 30 days of the date of service;

(5)

An order that the owner provide the city animal control authority with written notice of any relocation of the dog from its current residence, providing any new owner's full name, address, daytime and evening telephone numbers and the relocation address at least ten days prior to any such relocation or new ownership; and

(6)

The criminal penalties for violation of the requirements pertaining to potentially dangerous dogs.

(c)

Appeal of the potentially dangerous dog designation. Within 14 days after receipt of the notice of a potentially dangerous dog, any owner may request an appeal of that determination by completing and serving upon the city animal control authority a request for appeal of a potentially dangerous dog designation on the form provided along with the notice, including at a minimum the following information:

(1)

The full name, address, daytime and evening telephone numbers of the person requesting an appeal;

(2)

The full name and address of all of the dog's owners;

(3)

The ownership interest of the person requesting the appeal;

(4)

The names of any witnesses to be called at the hearing;

(5)

A list and copies of all exhibits to be presented at the hearing; and

(6)

A summary statement as to why the dog should not be declared potentially dangerous.

Failure to timely submit a completed request for appeal shall be deemed a waiver of the right to appeal and consent to the designation of the dog as potentially dangerous.

(d)

Hearing procedure. The owner of a potentially dangerous dog has the right to a hearing by an impartial hearing officer, who shall be either an impartial employee of the city or an impartial person retained by the city to conduct the hearing.

(1)

Within 14 days after receipt of the request for appeal, the hearing officer shall hold a hearing on the request to determine the validity of the potentially dangerous dog designation.

(2)

The hearing shall be held at a place to be determined by the animal control authority during the city's normal business hours.

(3)

At the hearing, the parties shall have the opportunity to present evidence in the form of exhibits and testimony. Each party may question the other party's witnesses. The strict rules of evidence do not apply and the records of the animal control officer or law enforcement official are admissible without further foundation. Objections as to the evidence presented can be made on the basis of the evidence being incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious. The hearing examiner shall admit and give probative weight to evidence, including reliable hearsay evidence, which possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonable and prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. The order of proof shall follow the burden of proof with the initial burden upon the city animal control authority to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the animal is potentially dangerous. The hearing shall be tape recorded and a full record of the hearing shall be kept by the hearing examiner.

(4)

Within ten days of the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall make written findings of fact and reach a written conclusion as to whether the dog is a potentially dangerous dog pursuant to this Code or state law. Upon receipt of those findings and conclusions or as soon thereafter as reasonably possible, the city animal control authority must personally serve a written copy thereof to the owner who requested the hearing or a person of suitable age at the residence of such owner. The decision of the hearing examiner is final without any further right of administrative appeal. An aggrieved party may obtain review thereof by petitioning the Minnesota Court of Appeals for a writ of certiorari not more than 30 days after service of the hearing examiner's written decision.

(e)

Potentially dangerous dog requirements. It shall be the joint and several responsibility of each owner of any dog kept or harbored within the city and determined to be potentially dangerous under this article of the Code or under the provisions of a substantially similar local or state law to:

(1)

Have a microchip implanted in the dog for identification and provide the city animal control authority with proof thereof, including the name of the microchip manufacturer and its serial identification number, within 30 days of any owner's receipt of the notice of potentially dangerous dog or within ten days of the dog's location within the city, whichever occurs first; and

(2)

Provide the city animal control authority with written notice of any intended relocation of the dog from its current residence and provide any new owner's full name, address, daytime and evening telephone numbers and the relocation address at least ten days prior to any such relocation or new ownership.

(3)

If the dog is outdoors, the dog must be either confined in a proper enclosure or restrained by a substantial chain or leash not longer than six feet and under the physical restraint of a responsible person.

(4)

If the dog is outdoors and is not confined in a proper enclosure or restrained by a substantial chain or leash not longer than six feet under the physical restraint of a responsible person, the owner must pay the city $250.00 per incident. If the dog has been impounded by the city, the $250.00 must be paid before the animal is reclaimed by the owner.

(f)

Review of potentially dangerous dog designation. Beginning six months after a dog is declared potentially dangerous hereunder, an owner may request annually that the city animal control authority review the designation by serving upon it with a written request for review that includes the full name, address and telephone numbers of the requestor, a list of the names and addresses of all owners of the dog, the requestor's ownership interest, and a summary of the basis for the claimed change in the dog's behavior. The request for review shall be accompanied by all documents in support of the contention that the dog's aggressive behavior has been modified. Within 14 days of the receipt of the request, the animal control authority shall make a determination in writing as to whether or not to rescind the potentially dangerous dog designation.

(Ord. No. 10-08, § 2, 9-22-2011)