6.12.040 Possession of an animal declared dangerous.
A. Any dangerous animal shall be immediately confiscated by an animal control authority if the:
1. Animal is not validly registered under RCW 16.08.080 or GHMC 6.12.030;
2. The owner does not secure the liability insurance coverage required under RCW 16.08.080 and GHMC 6.12.030(E)(2)(a);
3. The animal is not maintained in the proper enclosure; or
4. The animal is outside the dwelling of the owner or outside the proper enclosure and not under the physical restraint of the responsible person.
B. The animal control authority shall serve notice upon the animal’s owner in person or by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, specifying the reason for confiscating the dangerous animal, that the owner is responsible for payment of the costs of confinement and control, and that the animal will be destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner if the deficiencies for which the animal was confiscated are not corrected within 20 days of notification. The notice shall also state the owner’s right to an appeal hearing on the confiscation. In addition, the owner shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable as set forth below.
C. Gross Misdemeanor. When an animal has been previously declared dangerous by a court, animal control authority or municipal court hearing examiner and the animal has been confiscated under subsection A of this section for the owner’s failure to abide by any of the conditions of that code section, the owner of the dangerous animal shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor if such animal is thereafter found;
1. In the owner’s possession inside Gig Harbor city limits; or
2. Inside city limits under circumstances evidencing that the animal was intentionally brought into the city by the owner or at the request or acquiescence of the owner.
D. If a hearing is requested, the hearing must be scheduled to be heard within 21 calendar days from the day of the city’s receipt of the request for a hearing before the municipal court hearing examiner in the same manner as an appeal unless otherwise agreed to by the animal’s owner. The municipal court hearing examiner shall provide written notice of the hearing date and time to the owner of the dangerous animal and to the animal control authority. Such notice must be provided at least seven days prior to the scheduled hearing. The municipal court hearing examiner shall determine whether it is in the best interest of the community that the animal should be returned to the owner, forfeited by the owner to the animal control authority, or euthanized by the animal control authority. (Ord. 1034 § 9, 2006).