§ 14-6. Rabies vaccination and identification.

(a)

Any dog, cat or ferret, which is more than three months of age, within the jurisdiction of the commissioner must have a valid and current rabies vaccination which shall have been administered by a licensed veterinarian. The burden shall be on the owner to provide verifiable proof of vaccination to animal control. Animals being kept in a shelter shall be exempt from the requirement of a rabies vaccination for up to 30 days. The requirements of this subsection include the need for up-to-date revaccinations. An animal owner found in violation of this subsection shall be required to comply with this subsection within seven days, or the animal control officer is hereby authorized to impound the animal and have the animal vaccinated. Any animal impounded under this section shall not be released to the owner unless and until all of the requirements of this chapter are met.

(b)

An owner of an animal which bites or scratches a human being with force sufficient to break the integrity of the skin shall be subject to impoundment, and shall be subject to citation if found either in violation of the requirement to have a current rabies vaccination, or in violation of quarantine requirements, and may be further subject to additional requirements and penalties pursuant to other provisions of this chapter as well as all Georgia state quarantine requirements.

(c)

It is unlawful for anyone (other than a licensed veterinarian or animal control) to kill or release any animal under observation for rabies or suspected of having been exposed to rabies or any animal which has bitten a human being, or to remove such animal from the county without written permission from animal control and the director of public health.

(d)

All owners of animals vaccinated against rabies shall obtain and keep available for each animal owned a valid certificate of vaccination, along with a rabies tag indicating the year it was issued. For all dogs, the tag shall be securely fastened to the collar of the dog for which it was issued. It is assumed that any animal has not had a rabies vaccination if proof cannot be provided for the administration of such vaccination.

(e)

All dog owners are required to affix identification to their animals, either on the dog's collar or by other means such as microchip, and such identification shall be sufficient to trace or locate the dog's owner.

(f)

Any dog, cat or ferret that has been in an animal shelter is required to obtain a current rabies vaccination and be sterilized upon being released to its owner or released for adoption. If the dog, cat or ferret is less than three months of age, the animal shelter shall require the owner to fulfill the requirement of a rabies vaccination when the dog, cat or ferret attains the age of three months and present proof of such vaccination and sterilization to the shelter that released the dog, cat or ferret. Animal control or the shelter that released the animal is authorized to pick up the animal and have it vaccinated and/or sterilized, the additional cost of which shall be reimbursed by the owner. The owner shall be subject to a citation for failure to comply with an adoption agreement.

(Ord. of 9-18-2014(2))