§ 14-45. Restraint of animals while on property of owner.

(a)

Required. It shall be the duty of every owner of any animal, or anyone having any animal in his or her possession or custody, to ensure that:

(1)

The animal is kept under restraint;

(2)

Reasonable care and precautions are taken to prevent the animal from leaving, while unattended, the real property limits of its owner, possessor or custodian; and

(3)

The animal is:

a.

Securely and humanely confined within a house, building, fence, crate, pen or other enclosure; or

b.

Humanely secured by chain, cable and trolley, rope or tether of sufficient strength to prevent escape. If the animal is secured for more than three consecutive hours a day, the restraint device must be at least three times the length of the animal and free from stationary objects and other entanglements at all times; or

c.

Leashed or otherwise controlled by a responsible person or is obedient to the commands of a person present with the animal at any time it is not secured as provided for in subsections (a)(3)a. or b., of this section. The voice command must be demonstrated as an effective restraint if requested.

(b)

Dangerous animals. In addition to the requirements in subsection (a) of this section, an owner who maintains any dangerous dog as defined in F.S. § 767.11(1), or its successor, out-of-doors must fence a portion of his or her property with a perimeter or area fence. Within this perimeter fence, the dangerous dog must be humanely confined inside a pen or kennel of adequate size. The pen or kennel may not share common fencing with the area or perimeter fence. The kennel or pen must have secure sides and a secure top attached to all sides and the sides must be either buried two feet into the ground, sunk into a concrete pad, or securely attached to a wire bottom. The gate to the kennel must be locked.

(c)

Penalty. Any person found in violation of this section is subject to the penalties prescribed in section 14-32.

(Ord. No. 91-33, § XII, 10-10-91; Ord. No. 93-25, § XII, 11-4-93; Ord. No. 94-15, § VII, 9-18-94; Ord. No. 2009-35, § IV, 11-19-09)