§ 4-124. Vaccinations.

(a)

Required; duty of owner. It is unlawful for any person to own a dog or cat which has not been vaccinated against rabies as provided herein or which cannot be identified as having a current vaccination certificate.

(b)

Time and type of vaccination. The owner of each dog or cat shall have the dog or cat vaccinated against rabies at three months of age or as prescribed by the Federal Department of Agriculture and within each subsequent 12-month interval thereafter. Only Federal Department of Agriculture licensed rabies vaccines with a three-year duration of immunity in dogs or a vaccine which has been licensed for less than two years and for which testing to obtain approval for three-year duration of immunity is in progress, may be used according to label directions in any species for which it is approved.

(c)

Certificate form and content. Official rabies vaccination certificates issued by the vaccinating veterinarian shall contain certain standard information as designated by the department including, without limitation:

(1)

Owner's name, address and telephone number;

(2)

Animal identifications means species, sex, age (three months to 12 months, 12 months or older), size (pounds), predominant breed and colors;

(3)

Vaccine used means producer, expiration date and serial number;

(4)

Date vaccinated;

(5)

Rabies tag number if a tag is issued;

(6)

Veterinarian's signature or signature stamp and license number.

(d)

Records to be retained by veterinarian. A copy of each official rabies vaccination certificate issued shall be retained by the issuing veterinarian in a readily retrievable status for a period of not less than three years from the date of issuance. If a veterinarian ceases the practice of veterinary medicine, the duplicate rabies vaccination certificates retained by that practice shall be turned over to the local rabies control authority. This does not apply to the sale or lease of a practice, when the records of the practice are transferred to a new owner.

(e)

Rabies tag. Concurrent with the issuance and delivery of the certificate of vaccination, the owner of the dog or cat shall attach to the collar or harness of the vaccinated dog or cat a metal tag, serially numbered to correspond with the vaccination certificate number, and bearing the year of issuance and the name of the issuing veterinarian and his address. The owner shall cause the collar or harness, with the attached metal tag, to be worn by his dog or cat at all times.

(f)

Duplicate tags. In the event of loss or destruction of the original tag, the owner of the dog or cat shall obtain a duplicate tag. Vaccination certificates (and tags) shall be valid only for the animal for which it was originally issued. Duplicate tag may be purchased from the practicing veterinarian that issued the original tag.

(g)

Proof of compliance to be exhibited on demand. It is unlawful for any person who owns a vaccinated dog or cat to fail or refuse to exhibit his copy of the certificate of vaccination upon demand to any person charged with the enforcement of this section.

(h)

Penalty for violation. Any person who violates a provision of this Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $500.00. No portion of the fine imposed hereunder may be deferred, suspended or probated.

(Ord. No. 1997-03, § 2, 10-21-1997)