§ 6-2. Definitions.

The following terms and phrases shall have the meaning set forth in this chapter:

Abandon means to deposit, leave, drop off or otherwise dispose of any live domestic animal for a period in excess of 24 hours, without providing someone to feed, water and check on the animal's condition. No owner shall leave an animal by a roadside or other area, or leave such animal on either public or private property, without property owner's consent. In the event that an animal is impounded after having been deemed abandoned, the owner or person who was charged with the animal's care, shall be subject to citation.

Agent means any person(s) 18 years or older authorized by an owner to act in the owner's behalf.

Altered animal means any animal that has been surgically altered to prevent it from reproducing.

Animal means any live non-human vertebrate creature, domestic, wild or exotic.

Animal control agency means any governmental or private entity charged with or contracted with any given authority for the enforcement on the provisions of this chapter for and on behalf of the City of LaPorte (hereinafter referred to as "city") and shall include but not be limited to LaPorte City Police Officers, LaPorte Animal Control Officers, and LaPorte Code Enforcement Officers.

Animal performances or exhibitions means any spectacle, performance, display, act, exhibition or event in which any animal or animals are used.

Animal shelter means a facility or vehicle operated by a governmental or private entity for the purpose of providing or promoting animal welfare and humane treatment of animals.

At large means any animal that is not under restraint.

Attack dog means any dog trained to attack upon command or those which do attack or have attacked another animal or human being upon command. This definition excludes K-9 Corps dogs in use by law enforcement agencies.

Breeder means any person, for-profit business or corporation which harbors or keeps dogs and/or cats, and allows or causes those animals to reproduce for the purpose of selling said animals for profit.

Dangerous animal means any animal which:

(1)

Has, off of its owner's property, attacked another animal or livestock; or

(2)

Has attacked or which has attempted to attack, unprovoked, any human being, whether on or off the owner's property; or

(3)

Has bitten any human being, unprovoked, with said injury requiring stitches and the loss of blood; or

(4)

Has bitten or attacked a person, unprovoked, causing wound or injuries creating a potential danger to the health or life of the victim; or

(5)

Has a history documentation with a public agency of biting or attacking humans or domestic animals; or

(6)

Has a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, to cause injury or otherwise threaten or endanger the safety of humans or domestic animals; or

(7)

Has been found to be at large and has been documented to be at large by an animal control officer on three or more separate occasions in a 12-month period.

However, no animal shall be considered a dangerous animal if injury or damages is inflicted by that animal upon a person or another animal if such person or other animal, at the time such injury or damage was sustained, was committing a criminal trespass upon the premises occupied by the owner or keeper of the animal, or was teasing, tormenting, abusing or assaulting the animal or was committing or attempting to commit a crime. The definition excludes K-9 patrol dogs or police dogs used by law enforcement agencies. Further, no dog or cat shall be classified as dangerous based on its breed, size or strength, only on its temperament.

Domestic animal means any animal that is a member of one of the following species:

Dog;

Cat;

Cattle;

Horse;

Donkey/mule;

Sheep;

Llama;

Goat;

Swine;

Rabbit;

Mouse;

Rat;

Guinea pig;

Hamster/gerbil;

Reptile;

Exotic animals;

Chinchilla;

Ferret;

Pigeon, homing or racing;

Chicken, turkey, goose or duck.

Exotic animal means any animal whose normal native habitat is not indigenous to the Continental United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, except fish, and fur-bearing animals commercially bred for the furrier trade and birds protected under federal laws and regulations.

Exposed to rabies means any human or non-human warm blooded mammal that has been bitten or in contact with any other animal known or reasonably suspected to have been infested with rabies.

"For-profit" means all other types of businesses, associations or entities.

Fowl means any kind of wild or domestic bird, excluding homing or racing pigeons, canaries, parrots, or similar type of birds normally kept in cages.

Harboring means the actions of any person that permits any animal habitually to remain at large or to be fed within his home or property on which such person resides or controls. An animal shall be presumed harbored if it is fed or sheltered for three consecutive days or more.

Humane officer(s) means any person(s) and/or agency designated by the State of Indiana or the City of LaPorte as a person(s) who is qualified to perform the duties required by the law of this city and state regarding animals and shall include but not be limited to, LaPorte City Police Officers, LaPorte City Animal Control Officers and LaPorte City Code Enforcement Officers.

Non-immunized dog/cat shall mean any dog/cat over three months of age which has not been vaccinated or immunized against rabies, or if a booster shot thereafter has not been administered for a period of 12 months from the date of the last vaccination.

"Not-for-profit" means a business, association or entity established or organized as a "not-for-profit" corporation under State law, or recognized as "not-for-profit" by the Internal Revenue Service or the Indiana Department of Revenue.

Owner means any person age 18 years or older, partnership or corporation owning, keeping or harboring three one or more animals.

Pet shop means any person, group of persons, partnership or corporation, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise, engaged in the humane care and possession for sale and display of pets.

Public nuisance means any animal or animals which:

(1)

Interfere with passers-by or passing vehicles;

(2)

Attacks other animals or persons;

(3)

Is at large;

(4)

Damages private or public property;

(5)

Causes frequent or long continued loud noises or other sounds common to its species which disturbs the comfort or repose of any person in the immediate neighborhood;

(6)

Is at large or on a public playground, park, swimming pool or school yard unless the animal is authorized by school officials.

Rabies vaccination means the injection by a licensed veterinarian of a dog or cat or other animal with a rabies vaccine licensed by the U.S.D.A. and approved by the Indiana State Board of Health.

Restraint means the securing of an animal by leash or lead or confining it within the real property limits of its owner or agent.

Service animal means any animal formally trained to assist handicapped persons.

Stray means any animal that is not within the real property limits of its owner and is not under restraint or is unattended.

Veterinarian means any person licensed and accredited to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Indiana.

Wild animal means any animal that is not a domestic or exotic animal, with the exception of small, nonpoisonous aquatic or amphibious animals and small cage birds, which are normally found in the wild state.

Zoological park means any facility, other than a pet shop or kennel, displaying or exhibiting one or more species of non-domesticated animals operated by a person, partnership, corporation or governmental agency that is established for educational purposes and is properly zoned for such use and which possesses valid licenses and permits as required under federal law.

(Ord. No. 29-2003, § 2, 9-15-03; Ord. No. 33-2010, § I, 12-20-2010)