Sec. 3-101. Definitions

Abandon shall mean to desert an animal without having secured another owner or custodian for the animal or by failing to provide the elements of proper care as defined herein.

Administrator of Animal Control or Administrator shall mean that person designated by the Director of the Department of the Environment to administer the operations of the Animal Control Program or his designee.

Adoption shall mean the transfer of ownership of an animal from a releasing agency to an individual for placement.

"Aggravated Animal Cruelty or Neglect" is any act by an owner, custodian, or other person who tortures, torments, mutilates, cruelly beats, or kills an animal under circumstances demonstrating malice aforethought; or fails to provide proper care to an animal and the failure results in the death of the animal.

Agricultural animal shall mean all livestock and poultry.

Animal shall mean every nonhuman species of animal, both domesticated and wild, including, but not limited to, dogs, cats, ferrets, livestock, and fowl.

Animal at large shall mean an animal not under restraint, not leashed, and off the premises of its owner as set forth in Section 3-135 of this Subtitle. Service animals under appropriate control of their handler per ADA guidelines and dogs in service of law enforcement shall be exempt.

Animal Control Program shall mean that unit within the Department of the Environment designated by the Director to administer and enforce the provisions of this Subtitle under the direction of the Administrator of Animal Control.

Animal Control Officer shall mean any person designated as such by the Administrator or the authorized designee for the purpose of investigating reports of cruelty and neglect of animals and enforcing such laws as authorized by this Subtitle.

Animal exposed to rabies shall mean any animal that is known or is suspected to have had bite or nonbite contact with another animal that is known or suspected to be infected with rabies. The determination whether an animal has been exposed to rabies shall be made by the Health Officer for Prince George's County and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Animal Holding Center shall mean any commercial center for the care, boarding, training, holding, harboring, or housing of any animal or animals; and shall also include the following:

Animal hospital shall mean any establishment maintained or operated by a licensed veterinarian for the immunization, hospitalization, surgery, or diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals.

Animal Services and Adoption Center shall mean any center operated by or under contract with Prince George's County, Maryland, for the care, confinement, detention, euthanasia or other disposition of animals pursuant to the provisions of this Subtitle.

Animal shelter shall mean a center which is used to house or contain animals and which is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, government operated animal control or services center, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals.

Animal under restraint shall mean an animal secured by a leash or lead and under the control of a responsible person or within the boundaries of its owner's real property.

Appointing authority shall mean the Director of the Department of the Environment.

Attack animal shall mean an animal trained, ordered, signaled, or otherwise allowed to attack.

Anti-climbers shall mean a device consisting of angled metal braces and heavy gauge wire, which wire is stretched between each angled metal brace, all of which is attached to the top of a fence. The wire shall have at least three strands, separated evenly, the furthest being no less than eighteen (18) inches from the top of the fence. It shall extend inwards at an angle not less than forty-five (45) degrees nor more than ninety (90) degrees measured from perpendicular.

Anti-diggers shall mean a device or material installed in the ground to a level of nine (9) inches below grade continuously.

Bite contact shall mean penetration of the skin by the teeth of an animal.

Cage/crate shall mean any enclosure of limited space, enclosed on the bottom, top, and all sides by a wall or otherwise, in which animals or other creatures are placed for any purpose, including confinement or display, which complies with the requirements for proper space as defined herein.

Carcass shall mean any dead animal in whole or in part, i.e. bones or viscera.

Cat shall mean domesticated feline species commonly kept as a pet, male or female.

Cattery shall mean an establishment wherein a person engages in the business of boarding, breeding, buying, grooming, or selling cats.

Collar shall mean a well-fitted humane device, appropriate to the age and size of the animal, attached to the animal's neck in such a way so as to prevent trauma or injury to the animal.

Commercial establishment shall mean any trade or business the primary function of which is the sale of any goods or service.

Commission shall mean the Commission for Animal Control established in Division 3 of this Subtitle.

Commission Administrator shall mean that person designated by the Director of the Department of the Environment (DoE) to administer the operations of the Commission for Animal Control (CAC) or the administrator's designee.

Companion animal shall mean any domestic or feral dog, domestic or feral cat, ferret, nonhuman primate, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit not raised for human food or fiber, exotic or native animal, reptile, exotic or native bird, or any feral animal or any animal under the care, custody, or ownership of a person or any animal which is bought, sold, traded, or bartered by any person. Agricultural animals, farm animals, game species, wild or game species native to Maryland, or any animal regulated under federal law as research animals shall not be considered companion animals.

Confinement for animal quarantine for human bite and nonbite contact shall mean an animal confined to a house, garage, or escape-proof enclosure or building. An animal kept in a fenced yard is not considered properly confined.

Cruelty shall mean any act of commission or omission whereby excessive psychological, emotional, physical harm, pain, suffering, or death is caused or permitted including providing for adequate shelter when the effective outdoor wind chill index is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or the heat index is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, as determined by the National Weather Service. In the case of an activity in which physical pain is necessarily caused, such as food processing, hunting, experimentation, or pest elimination, cruelty shall mean the failure to employ the most reasonable humane method available under the circumstances.

Custodian shall mean the same as owner as defined in Section 3-101(57).

Dangerous animal.

Director shall mean the Director of the Department of the Environment or the Director's authorized representative.

Disposition shall mean the adoption or placement as a pet in an approved home, humane administration of euthanasia, or, in the case of a wild animal, release into a suitable habitat.

Dog shall mean any member of the domesticated canine species, commonly kept as a pet, male or female.

Domesticated animal means an animal of a species that has been bred, raised, and is accustomed to live in or about the habitation of man, and is dependent on man for food, water and/or shelter.

Ear Tipped Cat shall mean a cat that has had a straight line cutting ¼ inch off of the tip of the left ear while the cat is anesthetized. A cat who has been ear tipped indicates that it has been neutered and vaccinated.

Euthanasia shall mean the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that involves instantaneous unconsciousness and immediate death, or by a method that involves anesthesia, produced by an agent which causes painless loss of consciousness, and death during such loss of consciousness.

Exotic animal shall mean any animal of a species that is not indigenous to the State of Maryland and is not a domesticated animal, is not commonly kept as a pet, and shall include any hybrid animal which is part exotic animal.

Farm Animal shall mean any domesticated species of animal commonly kept in proximity to, but not ordinarily housed in the immediate domicile or household of, humans, and used for agricultural or riding purposes. Farm animals shall include, but not be limited to, horses, cattle, domesticated fowl, sheep, and swine. Dogs and cats are not farm animals.

Feral shall mean a domesticated animal commonly kept and/or cared for as a pet existing in an unsocialized state.

Foster shall mean the temporary holding, care, and treatment of a companion animal by an authorized group or individual pending adoption to a permanent home, or the temporary custody of an animal not normally placed for adoption authorized by the Administrator of the Animal Services and Adoption Center.

Foster home, group, or organization shall mean a group, organization, or individual recognized by the County to be capable of holding animals on a temporary basis.

Fowl shall mean any and all birds, domesticated and wild, which are used for food.

Free-roaming cat shall mean a cat that may be cared for by one or more residents of the immediate area; a free-roaming cat may or may not be feral. A free-roaming cat is not an owned animal and a person who feeds or shelters a free-roaming cat is not an owner. A free-roaming cat is not an animal at large.

Grooming establishment shall mean any commercial establishment, mobile or stationary, self service or service oriented, which provides a service of grooming and cleaning animals.

Guard dog shall mean a dog that is maintained at a commercial establishment for the purpose of securing that area. A person's pet on the property of the commercial establishment may be considered a guard dog.

Humane society shall mean any chartered, nonprofit organization incorporated under the law and organized for the purpose of preventing cruelty or neglect to animals and promoting humane care and treatment of animals.

Keeping or harboring shall mean the act of, or the permitting by an owner or occupant of real property, either by feeding or sheltering any animal in or about the habitation of man, on public or private premises.

Kennel shall mean an establishment or a private individual engaged in the breeding of dogs or cats, or the boarding, providing day care services for a fee, buying, grooming, letting for hire, training for a fee, or selling of dogs or cats. An animal hospital maintained by a licensed veterinarian as part of the practice of veterinary medicine for the treatment of animals shall not be considered a commercial kennel, except to the extent that it engages in the boarding of well dogs or cats. The ownership of dogs or cats which are part of a household or are maintained adjoining a private residence and are kept for hunting, practice tracking, or for exhibiting in dog or cat shows or field or obedience trials, and the sale of no more than one (1) litter per year shall not constitute the operation of a kennel. Obedience training of dogs or cats wherein the dogs or cats are not housed, boarded, or kept overnight shall not be considered a kennel if the operation is limited to the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 Midnight. The term "kennel" shall also include a center maintained solely for the keeping of foxhounds used for fox chasing.

"Less serious cruelty or neglect" is any act of cruelty or neglect, which has no permanent effect on the animal.

Livestock shall include all domestic or domesticated bovine animals, equine animals, ovine animals, porcine animals, cervidae animals, capradae animals, animals of the genus Lama, ratites, and enclosed domesticated rabbits or hares raised for human food or fiber. Companion animals are not livestock.

Neglect shall mean failure to provide proper care to an animal.

Nonbite contact shall mean an injury caused by the teeth of an animal that does not penetrate the skin, a scratch or contamination of an abrasion, open wound, or mucous membrane with saliva or other potentially infectious material.

Obedience training shall mean the concurrent training of a dog and its owner to prepare the dog as a companion to humankind and to prepare the dog's master for responsible control of the dog.

Owned animal shall mean an animal for which an owner has been identified; or that is surrendered to Prince George's County by a person proving ownership; or one that is impounded by proper authority and held at the Animal Services and Adoption Center pending disposition of its case; or, one for which there are indications that the animal has an owner. Such indicators include an animal license tag, tattoo, microchip implant, ear tag, normally acceptable livestock identification, or other condition that would lead a person to reasonably believe that the animal has a current owner and may be lost.

Owner shall mean any person who:

Permit shall mean, when used as a verb, human conduct in relation to an owned animal which is intentional, deliberate, careless, inadvertent, or negligent.

Pet shall mean a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility. Pets include, but are not limited to, dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and other animals, which, by habit or training, live in association with man.

Pet shop shall mean an establishment where companion animals are bought, sold, exchanged, or offered for sale or exchange to the general public.

Petting zoo shall mean any commercial establishment, activity, or center a substantial purpose of which is to permit persons to come into physical contact with animals maintained within or upon such establishment, activity, or center.

Pit Bull Terrier shall mean any and all of the following dogs:

Potentially dangerous animal shall mean any animal that:

Poultry shall mean all fowl and game birds raised in captivity used for human consumption or other products.

Proper air shall mean the provision of air that is properly ventilated, fresh, healthful and free flowing and provided to an animal in his/her environment; and that is free of the smell or stench of the contamination of urine, feces, rotting garbage, and/or filth.

Proper care shall mean humane treatment and responsible attention given to an animal, as appropriate for the age, species, condition, weight, size, and type of animal, in providing proper food, water, shelter, protection from the weather, exercise space, air, light, grooming, transportation, training, handling, confinement, and timely veterinary care and treatment, including euthanasia when necessary. Humane treatment shall include consideration and care for the psychological and emotional well-being of animals.

Proper cleaning shall mean that debris, food waste, urine and excrement are removed from the primary enclosure with sufficient frequency to minimize or eliminate the animal's contact with the above-mentioned contaminants, except for carcasses which are subject to immediate removal; the primary enclosure is sanitized with sufficient frequency to minimize or eliminate odors and the hazards of disease; and the primary enclosure is cleaned so as to prevent the animals confined therein from being directly or indirectly sprayed with the stream of water, or directly or indirectly exposed to hazardous chemicals or disinfectants.

Proper exercise shall mean the opportunity for the animal to move sufficiently to maintain normal muscle tone and mass for the age, species, weight, size, type and condition of the animal.

Proper food shall mean access to, and the provision of, food which is of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain each animal in good health; is accessible to each animal; is prepared so as to permit ease of consumption for the age, species, weight, size, type and condition of each animal; is provided in a clean and sanitary manner; is placed so as to minimize or eliminate contamination by urine, excrement and pests; and is provided at suitable intervals for the age, species, weight, size, type and condition of each animal, but at least once daily, except as prescribed by a licensed veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation or fasting normal for the species.

Proper grooming shall mean the humane care and maintenance of an animal's skin, fur, hair, scales, or feathers by bathing, drying, brushing, trimming hair and nails; removing dirt, debris and parasites from the animal's body; removing hair from and cleaning ear canals; expressing anal glands and any other such care and maintenance as necessary for the comfort and well-being of the species of animal.

Proper light shall mean the provision of the illumination by natural and/or artificial light for a duration appropriate for the species, except as directed by hibernation, veterinarian advice or professionally accepted practices for the safety and well-being of the animal. Animals shall be protected from excessive illumination of either natural and/or artificial light that is not appropriate for the species.

Properly lighted shall mean sufficient illumination to permit routine inspections, maintenance, cleaning, housekeeping of the animal center, and observation of the animal; to provide regular diurnal lighting cycles of either natural and/or artificial light, uniformly diffused throughout the animal center; and to promote the well-being of the animals.

Proper shelter and protection from the weather shall mean the provision of, and access to, shelter that is suitable for the species, age, condition, weight, size, and type of each animal; provides proper space for each animal; is safe and protects each animal from injury, physical suffering, rain, sleet, snow, hail, direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, and impairment of health; is properly lighted; is properly cleaned; enables each animal to be clean and dry, as appropriate for the species; and for dogs, cats, and ferrets, provides a solid surface, resting platform, pad, floor mat, or similar device that is large enough for the animal to lie on in a normal manner and can be maintained in a sanitary manner. Under this definition, a shelter whose wire, grid, or slat floors permit the animal's feet to pass through the openings, sag under the animal's weight, or otherwise do not protect the animal's feet or toes from injury is not a proper shelter. For animals confined outside, the foregoing shall not constitute the provision of adequate outdoor shelter when it is conducted (a) between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., unless the animal is actively engaged in conduct that is directly related to agricultural activity or farm animal activity on property whose zoning classification, if any, permits such agricultural activity; or (b) when no pet owner is on the property; or (c) when the effective outdoor wind chill index is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or the heat index is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher as determined by the National Weather Service; or (d) during a heat advisory issued by a local or State authority; or (e) during the effective period for a severe weather warning issued for the area by the National Weather Service, including a hurricane warning, tropical storm warning, or tornado warning.

Proper space shall mean sufficient space to allow each animal to:

Proper transportation shall mean to carry an animal from one place to another, usually, but not limited to, a vehicle in such a manner that protects the animal's health and safety; prevents the animal from sliding around, jumping out, being thrown out of or falling from the vehicle; protects the animal from road debris and exposure to the sun and heat, wind, rain, and such other elements of weather, including extreme cold.

Proper veterinary care shall mean the care and treatment of disease, illness, and/or injury provided by a licensed veterinarian which is obtained in a timely manner to prevent unnecessary pain and suffering of an animal, and vaccinations for the prevention of disease and illness.

Proper water shall mean the provision of, and access to, clean, fresh, potable water of a drinkable temperature which is provided in a suitable manner, in sufficient volume, and normally at all times. However, when special circumstances dictate, water must be provided at suitable intervals, but at least once every twelve hours, to maintain normal hydration for the age, species, condition, size, weight and type of each animal, except as prescribed by a licensed veterinarian or as dictated by naturally occurring states of hibernation or fasting normal for the species; and is provided in clean, durable receptacles which are accessible to each animal and are placed so as to minimize or eliminate contamination of the water by urine, excrement and pests or an alternative source of hydration consistent with generally accepted husbandry practices.

Provocation shall mean

Public nuisance animal shall mean any animal which unreasonably (1) annoys humans, (2) endangers the life or health of other animals or persons, or (3) gives offense to human senses; or which substantially interferes with the rights of the citizens, other than its owner, to enjoyment of life or property. The term "public nuisance animal" shall mean and include, but is not limited to, any animal which:

Public nuisance condition shall mean an unsanitary, dangerous, or offensive condition occurring on any premises or animal holding center caused by the size, number, or types of animals maintained, kept, or harbored, or due to the inadequacy of the facilities, or by reason of the manner or method of holding, confining, restraining, boarding, or training animals. A public nuisance condition shall be deemed to exist on any premises or animal holding center in which any animal is maintained, kept, or harbored under conditions which constitute cruelty to such animals, or where a public nuisance animal is maintained, kept or harbored.

Rescue/breed rescue organization community adoption partners shall mean a group or individual, recognized by the County as capable of meeting standards for fostering animals, authorized to receive and place animals from the Animal Services and Adoption Center which would otherwise be euthanized or which require special attention.

Research center shall mean any place, laboratory, or institution licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at which scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of living animals are carried out, conducted, or attempted.

Riding school or stable shall mean any place at which horses are boarded or displayed; or which has horses available for hire or riding instruction or pony rides; or which regularly buys, sells, trains, or trades horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, or burros, including any thoroughbred racetrack, trotting track, or rodeo.

Sanitary shall mean an environment free of, including but not limited to, contamination, urine, feces, trash, debris, vermin, carcasses, parasites, and hazardous materials. This shall include hazardous surface and subsurface conditions, i.e., mud, standing water, or any material that may endanger the health and/or safety of an animal.

"Serious cruelty or neglect" is as any act by an owner, custodian or other person which causes physical trauma, impairment of condition, and/or unnecessary pain and suffering and the cruelty or neglect results in physical injury to, and/or creates a substantial risk of death, or causes the death of an animal.

Service animal shall mean any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

Severe Injury shall mean any physical injury from single or multiple bite(s) resulting in broken bones, serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health, serious impairment of a bodily function, or requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery. Usually, a severe bite would correlate to a level four (4) or more on the Ian Dunbar scale.

Stray shall mean any animal found roaming, running, or self-hunting off the property of its owner or custodian and not under its owner's or custodian's immediate control. This includes an animal apprehended by an Animal Control Officer and/or surrendered to the County by a person who attests to, or willingly signs, a document stating that the animal is stray or that its owner is unknown.

Strict isolation shall mean the owner of an animal under an order for strict isolation assures that:

Trap-Neuter-Return shall mean the nonlethal process of humanely trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, ear-tipping and returning a free-roaming cat to its original location.

Vaccination shall mean an antirabies vaccination using a vaccine type approved by the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene or the Maryland Public Health Veterinarian.

Veterinarian shall mean a person currently licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Maryland.

Wild animal means any animal not commonly kept as a pet that generally is found living in a natural habitat and that is not tamed, domesticated or socialized in any manner. This shall include any hybrid animal which is part wild animal such as a mix of a dog/wolf breed.