Ordinance No. 8,913Published in The Baytown Sun: 20000523-2
Friday, May 2U,--7000, an
Saturday, May 27, 2000.
ORDINANCE NO. 8913
® AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, AMENDING
CHAPTER 14 "ANIMALS," ARTICLE II "IMPOUNDMENT," SECTION 14-
40 "SALE OR DESTRUCTION OF IMPOUNDED ANIMALS" OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS; PRESCRIBING A
MAXIMUM PENALTY OF FIVE HUNDRED AND NO /100 DOLLARS
($500.00); PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; CONTAINING A
SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS:
Section l: That Chapter 14 "Animals," Article II "Impoundment," Section 14 -40
"Sale or destruction of impounded animals" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas,
is hereby amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 14. ANIMALS
Article II. Impoundment
Sec. 14 -40. Sale or destruction of impounded animals.
(a) Any animal impounded under this article that is not redeemed by the owner within the
time required by this article shall be a public nuisance. After the period of redemption as
specified in section 14 -38, the city reserves the right to sell or destroy all such animals.
The sale of such animals shall be made upon such provisions as may be approved from
time to time by the city council. The destruction of such animals shall be carried out in a
humane manner, according to procedures approved from time to time by the city council.
(b) Any person adopting an impounded dog or cat that is eligible for sale, shall, before the
animal will be released to him, pay the following fees:
If animal is already spayed / neutered ..... ............................... .........................$10.00
If animal is not spayed /neutered ........... ............................... .........................$50.00
As a condition of sale, the dog or cat shall be sterilized and vaccinated or the
prospective owner must sign an agreement to have the dog or cat sterilized in
accordance with subsection (c) herein and vaccinated before the dog or cat is released.
The sterilization agreement must include the following:
(1) the date of the agreement;
(2) the names, addresses, and signatures of an animal control officer and the
new owner;
(3) a description of the animal to be adopted;
® (4) the sterilization completion date; and
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® (5) a statement, printed in conspicuous, bold print, that sterilization of the
animal is required under Chapter 828, Health and Safety Code, and that a
violation of this chapter is a criminal offense punishable as a Class C
misdemeanor.
(c) A dog or cat adopted from the animal control facility shall be spayed or neutered within
thirty (30) days unless the procedure has already been accomplished or the animal is less
than six (6) months of age. Persons adopting a dog or cat less than six months of age
shall agree to have it spayed or neutered when it becomes six months old. However, the
deadline for sterilization as provided herein may be extended for 30 days on presentation
of a written report from a licensed veterinarian stating that the life or health of the
adopted animal may be jeopardized by surgery. There is no limit on the number of
extensions that may be granted under this subsection.
(d) Upon the adoption of an eligible dog or cat, which has not been spayed or neutered, and
the payment of the fee specified in subsection (b) of this section, the City shall tender to
the person adopting the animal a voucher having a face amount of forty dollars. This
voucher can be presented to a participating veterinarian for a forty - dollar discount on any
spay or neutering procedure. After application and presentment of a valid spay /neuter
certificate, describing the animal and the indicating date the animal was sterilized, by a
participating veterinarian and the return of the city voucher, the city will remit forty
dollars to such veterinarian. As used in this subsection, the term "participating
veterinarian" shall mean a licensed veterinarian who performs spay and neutering
procedures and agrees to accept a city voucher and tender the appropriate paperwork to
the city for reimbursement.
(e) It is an exception to the application of subsection (b) of this section if the animal is
transferred to a state, county or other governmental entity or a non - profit corporation, that
has as its primary purpose, as evidenced in its articles of incorporation, the adoption
and/or destruction of animals in a humane manner, as determined by the city's director of
health.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this
ordinance are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of
such inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other
ordinances regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 3: If any provision, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence,
clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any person or the set of
circumstances, shall for any reason be held unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other
persons or sets of circumstances and to this end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be
severable.
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® Section 4: Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this ordinance shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
FIVE HUNDRED AND NO /100 DOLLARS ($500.00). Each act of violation and each day
upon which any such violation shall occur shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the
penalty prescribed above, the city may pursue other remedies such as abatement of nuisances,
injunctive relief, administrative adjudication and revocation of licenses or permits.
Section 5: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) days from its
passage by the City Council. The City Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing
the caption of this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at
least twice within ten (10) days after passage of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, READ, and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the
City of Baytown, this the 23rd day of May, 2000.
.lac. C,
PETE C. ALFAR , Mayor
ATTEST:
4 I. Ll�MITH, City Clerk
4GKACIO RAMIREZ, SW, City Attorney
9 c:klh25I\ Council\ Ordinances\ VoucherSystem4Spayed &Neutering052300Clean