§ 14-35. General violations.

1.

It shall be unlawful for the owner of an animal to allow or permit his or her animal:

A.

To be upon the beaches of the county, whether fettered or unfettered, unless the area has been designated by the board as suitable for use by such animals, except for service animals as defined in F.S. § 413.08, or animals used by law enforcement officers or county ordinance enforcement personnel.

B.

To run at large in or upon any public street, road, sidewalk, other public place, or upon private property without the expressed or implied consent, subject to zoning, of the owner or any lessee of such private property.

C.

To be upon public school grounds or public playground in the county, whether fettered or unfettered, except for service animals as defined in F.S. § 413.08.

D.

To enter any building where food is stored, prepared, served or sold to the public, or any other public building or hall; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to service animals as defined in F.S. § 413.08, to public buildings used for animal shows or exhibitions, or to dogs used for enforcement by any law enforcement officer or code enforcement officer.

E.

To be upon private or public property so as to damage or destroy any property of another including, but not limited to, the unprovoked biting, attacking, or wounding of another person's animal(s) or thing of value.

F.

To defecate and create a sanitary nuisance thereon, including defecating upon roadways, road rights-of-way, sidewalks, or other property. A sanitary nuisance exists whenever the feces are not immediately removed and properly disposed.

G.

To chase, run after, or jump at vehicles or bicycles using any road or road right-of-way.

H.

To snap, growl, snarl, jump upon, or otherwise threaten persons lawfully using any road right-of-way, persons lawfully on their own property, or persons lawfully on property of another with permission of the owner or person in possession or control of the property.

I.

It shall be unlawful for the owner, or any caretaker of an animal or animals to allow the animal(s), to bark, meow, whine, howl, or to make other sounds common to the species, persistently or continuously for a period of 30 minutes or longer when the animal is not contained within an enclosure sufficient to baffle loud noises and render them reasonably unobjectionable. This subsection shall not apply to animals maintained on land zoned for agricultural purposes, nor shall it apply to a properly permitted animal shelter established for the care and/or placement of unwanted or stray animals, nor a properly zoned commercial boarding kennel or other animal facility. An owner or custodian of the animal(s), may be cited for a violation of this section when either the investigating officer has received, from at least two unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, a sworn affidavit of complaint attesting to the committing of a nuisance pursuant to such section or subsection, upon receipt of one affidavit as described above accompanied with a photograph or video recording with indicia of reliability as to date and time of the recording, or the citing officer has witnessed the commission of such a nuisance. Affidavits attesting to the nuisance must come from residents within a three-block radius (approximately 900-foot radius).

J.

No owner or caretaker of an animal(s) shall permit the animal, either willfully or through failure to exercise due care or control, to bite, attack or wound a human without provocation while such person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place including the property of the owner of such animal.

K.

Any cat that is outdoors while not under direct control must be sterilized.

2.

It shall be unlawful to keep any female dog or cat in heat (estrus) which is not confined to a building or secure enclosure, veterinary hospital, or boarding kennel and in such a manner that the female dog or cat can come in contact with any male dog or cat except for intentional breeding with a specific male dog or cat.

(Ord. No. 2018-33, § 1)