64.100. - Standards of care and disposition of impounded and intake animals.
(a) Generally. All animals conveyed to a public or private shelter, or a rescue group/organization, shall be provided with adequate food, water, shelter, exercise, and environmental enrichment and socialization. All public or private shelters, or rescue groups/organizations, shall be responsible for the establishment of policies and protocols that include attention to animals' physical and psychological well-being. Such policies and protocols shall include, without limitation:
(1) Prompt and necessary veterinary care, including preventive vaccinations targeted at promoting health within a shelter or group setting, emergency medical care, and pain management aimed at alleviating pain from injury or disease or preemptively to prevent existing conditions from worsening. Such care shall be offered to animals regardless of whether the animal is a candidate for adoption, transfer, or rescue.
(2) Standard protocols to prevent the spread of disease, including evaluation and testing of animals at intake, isolation measures, and appropriate handling of sick and diseased animals.
(3) Regular cleaning and sanitation protocols aimed at preventing disease within the shelter, and to promote healthy and welcoming environments for animals, staff, and members of the public.
(4) Where established and applicable, appropriate protocols for volunteers, including training and regular supervision to ensure adequate handling, treatment, and interactions focused on animal enrichment and socialization.
(5) Specialized protocols for animals with special needs, such as nursing mothers, unweaned animals, sick or injured animals, geriatric animals or animals known to require therapy.
(6) Where deviations from any aspect of appropriate care are necessary to safeguard the health and safety of animals, staff, or the public, such deviations shall be duly recorded.
(b) Holding periods.
(1) Stray Animals.
a. Public and private sheltering agencies shall be required to hold any stray animal for a period of five (5) regular calendar days, unless otherwise provided by applicable ordinance, law, or by special protocol.
b. Stray animals with significant health conditions may be transferred to a private sheltering agency or rescue group immediately after intake, subject to the same rights of redemption by the owner.
c. Irremediably suffering animals must be euthanized without delay, upon a verbal or written determination made by a licensed veterinarian.
d. Unweaned animals held without their mother may be euthanized so long as the shelter has exhausted efforts to place the animals in foster care, made an emergency appeal under the requirements of this title, and is unable to provide the needed care and feeding in its facility.
(2) Owner relinquished/surrendered animals. In the case of owner-relinquished animals in custody of a public or private sheltering agency, the required holding period shall be twenty-four (24) hours from the time of relinquishment, with the same duties as those owed to stray animals, except as follows:
a. An irremediably suffering animal;
b. Owner requested euthanasia for non-rehabilitatable animal;
c. Euthanasia in the case of a non-rehabilitatable animal where the owner does not request euthanasia but the sheltering agency believes it is necessary to protect other animals or staff;
d. An agency shall not be prohibited from placing the animal prior to the end of the twenty-four (24) hour hold period.
(c) Disposition of impounded and/or unclaimed animals.
(1) Generally.
a. No public or private sheltering agency shall ban, bar, limit, or otherwise obstruct the adoption or transfer of any animal based on arbitrary criteria, such as breed, age, color, or any other criteria except as to the individual animal's medical condition, behavioral condition or the adopter's fitness to adopt.
b. Public and private sheltering agencies must take appropriate action to ensure that all animals are checked for all currently acceptable methods of identification, including microchips, identification tags, and licenses.
1. Public and private sheltering agencies must maintain regularly updated lists of animals reported lost in a manner that allows the public to access the list, self-report their lost animal, and match their lost reports with animals reported found and animals in the shelter.
2. As soon as is reasonably feasible after an animal is taken into custody, the agencies must make all reasonable efforts to post notice of all stray animals on the internet with sufficient detail and a photograph to allow them to be recognized and claimed by their owners.
3. If a possible owner is identified, the agency must undertake reasonable efforts to notify the owner or caretaker of the whereabouts of the animal and follow any procedures available for the lawful recovery of the animal.
4. These efforts may include, but are not limited to, notifying the possible owner by telephone, email, or mail, to their last known address.
5. Upon the owner's or caretaker's initiation of recovery procedures, the agencies must retain custody of the animal for not less than the holding period to allow for the completion of the recovery process.
(2) MACC shall have in place protocols for the disposition of all impounded and/or unclaimed animals in accordance with state and local law, and the required holding period restrictions contained in this title. Such protocols shall include, without limitation, the following guidelines:
a. Impounded animals.
1. Any animal who has not bitten or been bitten and is not otherwise subject to continued impoundment pursuant to any applicable law may be released to the owner upon payment of an impoundment fee, for the first impoundment within a 12-month period, and upon furnishing of proof of a license or purchasing a license and upon showing a certificate of vaccination as required by applicable law.
2. No dog, cat, or ferret shall be released from the shelter without a current vaccination for rabies, given by a licensed veterinarian, unless the animal is too young for the vaccination to be given.
3. For each subsequent impoundment in a calendar year the cost of impoundment shall increase by twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per incident.
4. In addition to all other requirements, the owner of any animal which is lawfully impounded shall pay all fees and expenses related to such impoundment whether or not the animal is claimed and prior to the release of said animal to the owner. These fees include, but are not limited to, vaccination, examination, any medical treatment fees for the animal, and boarding costs incurred during the period of time the animal was housed by MACC. Failure of the owner to pay fees and fines shall constitute a lawful debt owed to the City of Minneapolis which may be recoverable via any lawful and available means.
b. Adoption.
1. All animals that pass a behavioral examination (if applicable), a medical examination, and are believed to be safe to return to the public shall be made available for adoption. Where animals require specialized care or additional training, such animals shall be eligible for transfer to a releasing agency or rescue group/organization as provided in this title.
2. All animals made available for adoption shall be sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and microchipped prior to being delivered to the new owner, unless the animal is too young or too ill to be sterilized or for the vaccination to be given.
3. Any known medical or behavior history shall be made available to the new owner at the time of the adoption.
c. Transfer to another releasing agency.
1. All animals that pass a behavioral or medical examination and are found in need of further training or have special needs may be transferred to another releasing agency or rescue group/organization.
2. All animals made available for transfer shall be sterilized by a licensed veterinarian prior to transfer or within thirty (30) days of the transfer. If done within thirty (30) days of the transfer, the agency in custody of the transfer shall provide proof that the animal has been sterilized within forty (40) days of the date of the transfer. Proof shall be a signed copy of the sterilization certificate showing the animal's MACC ID number, species, sex, color, and microchip and signed by the sterilizing veterinarian. The paperwork shall remain as part of the animal's official record.
3. No person, releasing agency, or rescue partner, having agreed in writing to have an animal sterilized pursuant to this section, shall intentionally fail or refuse to have such sterilization performed within the time specified in the agreement. MACC is authorized to seize any animal which has not been sterilized in accordance with this section as a violation of the transfer agreement.
d. Euthanasia.
1. Any animal that is found to be non-placeable due to behavioral or medical reasons, or is non-placeable after reasonable effort has been made to place or transfer the animal, may be humanely euthanized under the authority of a licensed veterinarian.
2. For purposes of this section, "non-placeable animal" shall mean:
i. Any animal past the age of weaning and has a history or signs of behavior or temperament that would pose a safety or health risk to the adopter or community-at-large;
ii. Any animal that has a history or signs of disease or injury that would adversely affect the animal's health or quality of life, or that poses a health risk to other animals in the shelter, to the adopter or to the community-at-large;
iii. Any animal that has a medical condition that is not reasonably treated of which the cost would be prohibitive and/or the prognosis deemed poor by a license veterinarian; or
iv. Any animal that has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to be destroyed.
e. Disposition of animals involved in an aggressive behavior or dangerous to the public.
1. MACC is authorized to order the destruction or other disposition of any animal which:
i. Kills a person;
ii. Bites one (1) or more persons on two (2) or more occasions;
iii. Causes substantial bodily injury or disfigurement to a human or animal;
iv. Engages in an attack on or exhibits unusually aggressive behavior towards any person or animal under circumstances that would indicate danger to the safety of the person or animal;
v. Is prohibited by or found to be in violation of the potentially dangerous or dangerous dog ordinance or statute; or
vi. Unprovoked, kills another animal.
2. In determining the disposition of the animal MACC will determine the potential of the animal to pose a danger to the public's health, safety, or welfare based upon the following factors:
i. The animal weighing more than twenty (20) pounds;
ii. The strength of the animal, including jaw strength;
iii. The animal's tolerance for pain;
iv. The animal's tendency to refuse to terminate an attack;
v. The animal's propensity to bite humans or other animals;
vi. The animal's potential for unpredictable behavior;
vii. The animal's aggressiveness;
viii. The likelihood that a bite by the animal will result in serious injury; and
ix. Previous documented history or behavior which would indicate the animal's propensity to be a danger to the public.
This subsection shall not apply to any assistance animal, including guide animals, signal animals, and service animals, trained or in training to assist a qualified individual with a disability.
3. Notification and process.
i. The owner or custodian of the offending animal shall be notified in writing as to the reasons the animal is subject to disposition or destruction under this subsection and, where applicable, copies of all reports received by MACC that were utilized to determine the disposition.
ii. The owner shall have three (3) business days after the date of notification to request a hearing to appeal a destruction order. If a hearing is requested, it shall be scheduled within ten (10) business days, unless a later hearing date is mutually agreed upon. The hearing officer shall have authority to affirm, reverse, modify, or amend the declaration or order as appropriate.
iii. If a hearing is not requested within three (3) business days of the notification, the animal may not be destroyed until a minimum of five (5) business days have passed since the issuance of the order.
iv. If the animal has bitten a person, it shall remain at a designated MACC facility through the end of any quarantine period as required pursuant to law. At the conclusion of the quarantine period, the animal shall be subject to further disposition as defined in this Code and may be held at the owner's expense until a disposition is determined.
v. Unclaimed animals shall be subject to disposition without notice to the owner or custodian after any mandatory hold period required by law. Unclaimed animals shall include animals declared potentially dangerous or dangerous if in the custody of MACC and not in full compliance with the requirements of this title.
vi. All applicable fees are subject to payment within twenty (20) days for any identified owners and shall be invoiced. All unpaid fees may be forwarded to a collection agency for processing or shall otherwise constitute a legal debt and obligation that may be collected in any available legal manner. (Ord. No. 2016-009, § 1, 2-12-16)
