§ 14-4. 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:

Animal means any live, vertebrate creature, domestic or wild.

Animal at-large means when an animal is off the property of the owner and not under restraint.

Animal control officer means any person designated by the village police department, to enforce this chapter and statutes, adopted by reference, as they pertain to animal control.

Animal shelter means any facility operated by a humane society or municipal agency, or its authorized agents, for the purpose of impounding, or caring for, animals held under the authority of this chapter or law.

Confined means restriction of an animal at all times by the owner, or his agent, to a building, vehicle or other enclosure.

Domestic animal means any animal which normally can be considered tame and converted to home life.

Dwelling unit means a building, or portion thereof, designed or used exclusively for residential purposes.

Health officer means the county Humane Society which shall be contracted to be the health officer for the village.

Kennel means any premises wherein any person engages in the business of boarding, breeding, buying, letting for hire, training for a fee, or selling of dogs or cats.

Licensing authority means the finance director/treasurer, or its delegated collecting agent.

Owner means any person, who owns, harbors or keeps an animal. Where an animal is kept by a family, the head of the household shall be responsible for the requirements of this chapter. Any animal shall be deemed to be harbored if it is fed and sheltered.

Public nuisance means any animal which:

(1)

Molests passersby or passing vehicles;

(2)

Attacks persons or animals without provocation when they are peacefully conducting themselves, where they are lawfully entitled to be;

(3)

Trespasses on school grounds, parks or cemeteries;

(4)

Is repeatedly at large;

(5)

Damages private or public property;

(6)

Barks, whines, yelps or howls, or crows or makes other noises in an excessive, continuous or untimely fashion that greatly annoys or disturbs a neighborhood or number of persons.

Render sterile means a surgical procedure that has been performed on an animal that renders it incapable of siring or bearing offspring; including neutering and spaying.

Restraint means any animal secured by a leash or lead, or under the control of a responsible person and obedient to that person's command, or within the real property limits of its owner.

Veterinary hospital (clinic) means any establishment maintained and operated by a licensed veterinarian for surgery, diagnosis and treatment of disease and injuries of animals.

Vicious animal means any animal that constitutes a physical threat to human beings, or other animals, or any animal known to have attacked a person without provocation when that person was peacefully conducting himself, where he was lawfully entitled to be.

Wild animal means any live monkey, or other nonhuman primate, raccoon, skunk, fox, wolf, poisonous snake, or any snake exceeding three feet in length, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx, or any other warm-blooded animal, which can normally be found in the wild state.

(Code 1991, §§ 10.06(10), 12.10(2))

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.