§ 14-7. Abandonment, cruelty, mistreatment and abuse.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon or abuse, injure, neglect, torture, torment, maim, mutilate, beat, wound, poison or kill an animal, or to confine or tether an animal in an unsafe or non-humane manner, or to confine an animal without sufficient ventilation and protection from extreme temperatures. The allowance of any condition, or failure to provide any care, which shall endanger an animal's health shall constitute abuse. This shall also include having a number of animals that exceeds an owner's ability to provide proper care and shelter in the opinion of animal control or a licensed veterinarian, and failure to provide adequate food and water, failure to obtain needed veterinary care to relieve pain and suffering, failure to appropriately treat an animal for parasitic infestations, and failure to provide humane care.

(b)

It shall be unlawful for anyone to abandon any dog or other domesticated animal, owned by or in the possession, including temporary possession, of any person. Such abandonment shall include leaving or putting out any animal, whether the animal is healthy, sick, injured, or diseased, on any private or public property, or aiding or permitting such leaving or putting out. It shall be unlawful for anyone to abandon any dead animal on any private or public property, or to fail to bury or otherwise properly dispose of the carcass within 24 hours after an animal's death in accordance with applicable state and county health regulations.

(c)

An animal owner is required to provide proper housing for a domesticated animal (depending on the breed), which shall at a minimum for dogs and most domesticated animals consist of three sides, a roof, and a floor, constructed in such a way as to keep an animal protected from the elements and extreme temperatures, and be of such a size that the animal can enter, exit, stand, turn around, and sleep comfortably. An owner is required to provide adequate and sanitary food and water.

(d)

It is the policy of animal control that tethering or chaining a dog as a permanent means of confinement is an unsafe, unwise, and dangerous practice. In the event an owner uses a tether or chain to confine a dog, it shall be of sufficient construction as to not constitute abuse or a danger to the dog and shall allow the dog sufficient freedom to safely perform its necessary activities and functions in the judgment of animal control. Improper, inhumane, and unsafe tethering and chaining as a permanent means of confinement shall be considered animal cruelty.

(e)

It shall be unlawful and shall constitute animal cruelty to buy, trade, own, possess, keep, sell or train any animal with the intent that such animal shall be engaged in an exhibition of fighting; or to build, make, maintain or keep a pit, or allow a pit to be built, for the purpose of an exhibition of animal fighting; or, in any manner, to encourage, instigate, promote or assist in an exhibition of animal fighting; or charge admission, be an assistant, umpire or participant or be present as a spectator to any exhibition of animal fighting.

(f)

Upon a finding of extreme circumstances, animal control may immediately impound any abandoned, mistreated or abused animals as described in this section and shall deal with the animal in accordance with animal control regulations and the provisions of this chapter and state law.

(g)

A person who commits any offense of abandonment, cruelty, mistreatment or abuse as delineated in the above provisions shall be subject to a citation in addition to the criminal penalties imposed by O.C.G.A. § 16-12-4. The animal shall be immediately evaluated by a veterinarian and be impounded and handled in accordance with the provisions of O.C.G.A. §§ 4-11-9.2—4-11-9.6.

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