§ 5-4.504. Penalties.

(a)

Any cat or dog owner found by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services or City of Modesto Animal Control to be in violation of the litter permit provisions of this section may correct the violations by obtaining the necessary permit(s) mentioned in this section, no later than thirty (30) days from the date when the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services or the City of Modesto had first notified the owner of the violation. Should the owner fail to correct the violations in the manner described above, the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services shall impose a five hundred dollar ($500.00) penalty on the dog or cat owner. Notice of this penalty shall be served by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services on the dog or cat owner by mail. The penalty shall not be waived by the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services upon the transfer or abandonment of the dog or cat by the noncompliant owner. This penalty shall be imposed in addition to any other applicable civil or criminal penalties.

If the penalty mentioned in this subsection is not paid and the owner does not microchip or has some other form of identification acceptable to the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services, spay or neuter his/her dog(s) or cat(s), or obtain the litter permit(s) within fifteen (15) days from the date when Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services or the City of Modesto first notified the owner of the imposition of a penalty, the continuing violation of the litter permit requirement of this section becomes an additional infraction and may be prosecuted as such.

(b)

Any litter permit issued pursuant to Section 5-4.503 of this chapter may be revoked if the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services Director or his/her designee has reasonable causes to believe any of the following to be true:

(1)

The permittee has violated any City or County ordinances relating to the keeping, care or use of any animal.

(2)

The permittee is in violation of any State health or safety law or regulation regarding animal care or control.

(3)

The permittee has failed to comply with any condition or requirement of the permit or has failed to pay any fee imposed under this Code.

(4)

The permittee refused to allow inspection, upon forty-eight (48) hours written notice, of any animal covered by the permit or the premises on which the animal is kept.

(5)

The permittee has transferred, sold or otherwise disposed of the animal for which the permit was originally issued.

(c)

If, after inspection, the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services Director or his/her designee concludes that it is probable that one (1) or more of the above grounds for revocation has occurred, it shall cause written notice thereof to be transmitted by mail to the address of the litter permittee. Said notice shall specify the grounds of possible revocation of the litter permit and shall specify a date and time for an informal hearing to be held before the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services Director or his/her designee. Said date shall be not less than five (5) days subsequent to the date the notice is mailed. After the informal hearing, the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services Director may modify the terms of the litter permit or revoke the litter permit.

(d)

The litter permittee may appeal the decision of the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services Director or his/her designee to the Animal Court if the permittee gives written notice of such appeal within five (5) working days of the decision.

(e)

Failure to comply with any of the requirements mentioned in Section 5-4.503 of this chapter is an infraction punishable by a one hundred dollar ($100.00) fine for the first occurrence, two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the second occurrence and three hundred dollars ($300.00) for each subsequent occurrence, except as set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(Added by Ord. 3398-C.S., § 1, effective 12-01-05)