§ 6-1. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Altered animal means any animal that is spayed or neutered.

Animal means any live vertebrate creature including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, but not humans, and/or as defined in F.S. § 828.02.

Animal control officer means any individual employed, contracted with, or appointed by the City of Neptune Beach and designated by the city manager as being responsible for enforcing ordinances and state statutes relating to the control, impoundment, and disposition of animals.

At large means that an animal is off of the property of the owner and: (1) without restraint or confinement; (2) wandering, roving, or rambling unrestrained; or (3) in the absence of control of a person in charge. An animal on a retractable or other trolley leash system shall be considered "at-large" if the leash is extended beyond sixteen (16) feet in length.

Business day means Monday through Friday but excluding official holidays recognized by the city (New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Unless a provision in this chapter specifically refers to "business" day, any reference to "day" shall mean a calendar day.

Cat means all domesticated feline's not feral or wild cats.

Community cat means any free-roaming cat that may be cared for by one (1) or more residents of the immediate area who is/are known or unknown; a community cat may or may not be feral. Community cats shall be distinguished from other cats by being sterilized and ear tipped.

Cruelty means any act of cruelty upon an animal as defined in F.S. Ch. 828.

Dangerous dog means any dog that according to the records of the appropriate authority:

(1)

Has aggressively bitten, attacked, endangered or has inflicted severe injury on a human being on public or private property;

(2)

Has severely injured or killed a domestic animal while off the owner's property more than once;

(3)

Is a dog trained for dog fighting or is being used or has been used for the purpose of dog fighting; or

(4)

Has, when unprovoked, chased or approached a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack, provided that such actions are attested to in a sworn statement by one (1) or more persons and dutifully investigated by the appropriate authority;

(5)

Severe injury means any physical injury that results in one (1) or more broken bones, multiple puncture bites, or one (1) or more lacerations requiring sutures, or an injury requiring reconstructive or plastic surgery.

Dog means all members of the canine family that are domesticated.

Domesticated means tame, usually by generations of breeding, and living in close association with humans as a pet or work animal in such a way that creates a dependency on humans so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

Duval County Health Department or DCHD means the health department, rabies control and the health director or the director's designee.

Enclosure or outdoor enclosure means any structure with at least three (3) walls, a roof, and floor in adequate condition as not to endanger the safety of the animal and as to provide necessary protection of the animal from weather conditions. An enclosure must be properly located so that it does not allow for standing water to pool inside or surrounding the enclosure following any weather event or other water intrusion. For pets not declared dangerous a residence may be considered a proper enclosure; different rules as specified in this chapter apply to a "proper enclosure" for declared dangerous dogs, see section 6-14.

Feral means a wild animal that exists in an untamed state or that has returned to an untamed state generally not socialized to human contact and is no longer considered domesticated. Feral animals shall include, but not be limited to cats, dogs, fox and hogs.

Harbor means the act of caring for and keeping an animal or the act of providing a premises or residence to which the animal returns for food, shelter or care for a period of at least ten (10) days, or at the point where the caregiver is providing the primary source of sustenance for the animal; whichever time is shorter. Should the city establish a program for the maintenance of feral or community cats, those persons maintaining those cats will be regulated in accordance with such program.

Home quarantine means a period of time no less than ten (10) days that an animal is to be kept at the resident care takers home. This is in lieu of quarantining the animal at the Neptune Beach Animal Control facility following an animal bite. Home quarantine is used when a bite occurs and the animal is current on their rabies vaccination or at the discretion of the animal control officer for safety and health reasons of animal and people.

Inoculation means vaccination with a currently available vaccine recognized to prevent rabies in the vaccinated animal.

Microchip identification means an identifying integrated circuit microchip placed under the skin of an animal. The chip is about the size of a large grain of rice typically located near the shoulder blades or back of the animal's neck.

Nuisance means any wrongful thing done or permitted which injures or annoys another in the enjoyment of his legal rights, with particular reference to the breeding of flies, the creation of odors and other obnoxious circumstances caused by the keeping of animals, any fecal material left by an animal, or habitual, objectionable noisemaking, chasing after vehicles and persons or damaging or destroying of property by an animal.

Owner means any person, firm, corporation or organization owning, harboring, keeping or having control or custody of an animal or, if the animal is owned by a person under the age of eighteen (18), that person's parent or guardian. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person's name appearing on the animal's registration or radio frequency identification device (RFID), commonly known as a "microchip," is the owner.

Physical control means adequate restraint to prevent the animal from engaging in biting, aggression towards people or animals, straying, being at-large, as defined herein, or other behaviors regulated by the ordinance codified in this article or state law by the use of a proper leash or similar device attached to an appropriate collar or harness. To maintain effective physical control the animal must be on a leash not to exceed sixteen (16) feet at its maximum extension. Nothing in this definition is intended to prevent dogs being on training leashes or while engaged in other appropriate activities under adequate control where care is taken to assure control as needed is available to prevent violations of this article. Likewise, nothing in this definition is meant to limit the use of a service dog, however, that the service dog is otherwise under the handler's control and the handler requires the use of service dog that is not physically restrained.

Poultry means domesticated fowl of all kinds such as, turkeys, ducks, geese and the like.

Quarantine or ten-day quarantine means confining an animal for observation of any symptoms of rabies, which confinement is typically for a ten-day time period from the date of the bite, scratch or other potential rabies exposure, unless a longer time period is required pursuant to state regulations and guidelines.

Rabies means acute, often fatal, infectious disease of the central nervous system, also known as hydrophobia. Rabies is transmitted when the virus is introduced into bite wounds, open cuts in skin, or onto mucous membranes.

Service dog means a dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for a handler with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work done or tasks performed must be directly related to the handler's disability and may include, but are not limited to, guiding a handler who is visually impaired or blind, alerting a handler who is deaf or hard of hearing, pulling a wheelchair, assisting with mobility or balance, alerting and protecting a handler who is having a seizure, retrieving objects, alerting a handler to the presence of allergens, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to a handler with a mobility disability, helping a handler with a psychiatric or neurological disability by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors, reminding a handler with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a handler with post-traumatic stress disability during an anxiety attack, or doing other specific work or performing other special tasks. A service dog is not a pet. The crime-deterrent effect of a dog's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for purposes of this definition.

Stray means any animal that is found to be at-large, whether lost by its owner or otherwise, or that is on the common areas of multi-residential premises, and that does not have an identification tag and for which there is no identifiable owner; however, if the city establishes a program for the maintenance of feral cats or community cats this provision shall not apply to qualified animals in those programs.

Sufficient food means access to proper food for the species of animal on a regular, ongoing basis in quantities sufficient to maintain a regular body weight as designated by objective measurement tools such as "body condition score (BCS)" systems. As an example, regular body weight would be the "ideal" level (4 or 5) on the internationally recognized veterinary and animal welfare Purina Body Score System Chart. Animals under active, current veterinary care may deviate from the scale based upon the expertise of a licensed veterinarian.

Sufficient water means access to clean, potable water on a regular, ongoing basis in quantities to prevent the animal from exhibiting signs of dehydration.

Transporting means shipping, carrying, importing, exporting, receiving or delivering for shipment, transportation, carriage or export of any animal.

Vaccination against rabies means the proper administration of anti-rabies inoculation or vaccination by a veterinarian licensed by the state board of veterinary medicine.

Veterinarian means an individual who is licensed to engage in the practice of veterinary medicine in Florida under the authority of F.S. Ch. 474.

Wholesome exchange of air means sufficient ventilation or other means of air exchange adequate to prevent the accumulation of noxious odors and limit airborne disease transfer and adequate air movement in/through the structure.

Wild animal means any member of the animal kingdom including, but not limited to, any mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or other invertebrate, but excluding those animals such as livestock and poultry and domesticated household pets.

(Ord. No. 1998-01, § 1, 4-6-98; Ord. No. 2005-09, § 1, 5-2-05; Ord. No. 2011-22, § 1, 11-7-11; Ord. No. 2017-01 , 2-6-17; Ord. No. 2017-06 , 4-3-17; Ord. No. 2017-09 , 7-5-17)

Cross reference

Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-2.