6.04.020 Definitions.
The terms defined below, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings that follow unless the context in which they are used clearly indicates a different meaning:
A. “Adequate food and water” means food or feed appropriate to the species for which it is intended. Both food and water must be in sufficient quantity and quality to sustain the animal, and should be in containers designed and situated to allow the animal easy access.
B. “Adequate shelter” means a structure that is moisture- and wind-proof; allows the animal to turn around freely, sit, stand and lie without restriction; keeps the animal clean and dry; and by application does not cause the animal injury, disfigurement, or physical impairment.
C. “Adult cat” means a cat more than six months of age.
D. “Adult dog” means a dog more than six months of age.
E. “Animal control authority” means the Kitsap County Humane Society, Pierce County Humane Society, or other organization contracted by the Gig Harbor Police Department to enforce the city’s animal control provisions.
F. “Animal welfare facility” means any indoor or outdoor facility where pets are routinely housed or maintained by or for an animal welfare organization.
G. “Animal welfare organization” means any public or private organization registered with the Washington Secretary of State’s office as a not-for-profit organization, whether called a kennel, cattery, shelter, society, or rescue, and includes the organization’s officers, agents, and representatives when acting in the name or on behalf of the organization that controls, rescues, shelters, cares for, or disposes of pets as all or part of the purpose of the organization.
H. “At large” means an animal that is off the premises of the owner and not under physical restraint adequate for its size and nature or is not sufficiently near its owner to be under its owner’s direct control and is not obedient to its owner’s commands, except that all dogs must be leashed when off the premises of the owner.
I. “Commercial pet facility” means any place or entity where pets are boarded or bred for the primary purpose of compensation, or where pets are housed for resale, such as pet shops, but not including a veterinary hospital where boarding is incidental to treatment.
J. “Dangerous animal” means any pet or livestock that:
1. Inflicts severe injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property;
2. Kills a domestic animal without provocation while the attacking animal is off the owner’s property; or
3. Has been previously found to be potentially dangerous, because of injury inflicted on a human, the owner having received notice of such, and the animal again aggressively bites, attacks, or endangers the safety of humans, pets, or livestock.
K. “Feral cat” means any cat that has no apparent owner or identification and is apparently wild, untamed, unsocialized, unmanageable, and unable to be approached or handled.
L. “Grooming parlor” means any place or entity, public or private, stationary or mobile, where pets are bathed, clipped, or combed for the purpose of enhancing their aesthetic value and for which a fee is charged.
M. “Hearing examiner” means the municipal hearings examiner appointed by the city council, which shall be the Gig Harbor municipal court judge.
N. “Hybrid(s)” means the offspring of two animals of different species, such as the offspring resulting from breeding a domesticated dog (Canis familiaris) with a wolf (Canis lupus).
O. “Impoundment” means when an animal is placed under the control or custody of the animal control authority.
P. “Juvenile cat” means a cat seven weeks to six months of age.
Q. “Juvenile dog” means a dog seven weeks to six months of age.
R. “Kennel” means a commercial establishment in which domesticated animals are housed, groomed, bred, boarded, trained or sold.
S. “Livestock” means animals including, but not limited to, all equine (horse, mule), bovine (cattle), porcine (swine), caprine (goats), ovine (sheep), camelid (camel, llama, alpaca), ratitae (ostrich, emu, rhea), domesticated poultry, game birds and waterfowl (as authorized by the state of Washington), or federally-permitted fowl and other pen-raised fowl, or other animals raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption.
T. “Owner” means any person or entity which controls, maintains, possesses, has custody of, or otherwise provides care, shelter, protection, restraint, refuge, food, or nourishment in such a manner as to control an animal’s activities.
U. “Pet” means any animal maintained by a person or entity for the primary purpose of personal enjoyment, exhibition, companionship or service including, but not limited to, domesticated animals, such as cats and dogs, and nondomesticated animals suitable to living in companionship with humans, such as some birds and mammals.
V. “Pet shop” means a commercial establishment that acquires pets for the purpose of resale.
W. “Potentially dangerous animal” means any animal that when unprovoked:
1. Inflicts a bite(s) on a human, pet, or livestock either on public or private property;
2. Chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any other public grounds or private property in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack; or
3. Any animal with a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to attack unprovoked, or to cause injury or otherwise threaten the safety of humans, pets, or livestock on any public or private property.
X. “Provoke” means to intentionally agitate, harass, or excite an animal.
Y. “Service dogs” means any guide or signal dog individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability or that serves public or tribal law enforcement, as well as any dog enrolled in a recognized formal training program for those types of services.
Z. “Severe injury” means any physical injury that results in broken bones or disfiguring lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery.
AA. “Wheeled vehicle” means any wheeled conveyance intended for use as a means of transport of persons or goods. (Ord. 1034 §§ 3, 6, 2006).