| Chapter 051 |
| 2020 -- H 7258 Enacted 06/26/2020 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- IMPOUNDMENT AND DISPOSITION OF UNCOLLARED DOGS -- FOSTER |
| Introduced By: Representative Michael W. Chippendale |
| Date Introduced: January 23, 2020 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 4-13-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-13 entitled "Dogs" is |
| hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 4-13-15. Collaring of dogs -- Impoundment and disposition of uncollared dogs. |
| (a) Every owner or keeper of a dog shall cause the dog to wear a collar around its neck |
| distinctly marked with its owner's or keeper's name and with its registered number. Any person |
| may cause any dog not so collared to be impounded in the public pound of the town or city where |
| the dog is found; and if the dog is not claimed by its owner or keeper within a period of five (5) |
| days after the impoundment, the dog may be disposed of or destroyed. The five (5) days shall not |
| include any day or part of a day that the public pound is not open for a specified period of time, |
| not to be less than one-half (1/2) the normal hours of business, for the purpose of reclaiming any |
| impounded dog by its rightful owner. All periods of time shall be listed in a prominent location at |
| the entrance to all public pounds. The owner or keeper of any dog so impounded shall not take |
| the dog out of the pound until he or she has first paid to the poundkeeper the expense of keeping |
| the dog, that expense not to exceed two dollars ($2.00) per day and to be determined by the city |
| or town council in which impoundment occurs. The town council of the town of Glocester may, |
| by ordinance, determine an expense not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) for each of the first five (5) |
| days during which this impoundment occurs plus five dollars ($5.00) every day the animal is |
| detained, plus an additional ten dollars ($10.00) if the owner or keeper is unable to show that the |
| dog has a current rabies shot pursuant to § 4-13-31, and further, the dog shall not be released from |
| the pound until all the provisions of this chapter and the ordinances of the city or town are |
| complied with. The provisions of this section relating to the five-(5) day (5) waiting period shall |
| not be deemed to apply to any dog which, when impounded, was injured or maimed, and after the |
| dog has been examined by a licensed veterinarian who shall confirm, in writing, that the dog be |
| destroyed for humanitarian purposes. |
| The town of West Warwick may provide by ordinance an impounding fee of five dollars |
| ($5.00) per day and may provide by ordinance for a fee for the purposes of transferring ownership |
| or for the disposition of said animals according to law for each adult dog (six (6) months or older) |
| the sum of twenty dollars ($20.00) and for each puppy the sum of five dollars ($5.00) and for |
| each adult cat (six (6) months or older) the sum of ten dollars ($10.00). |
| (b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is subject to the penalty provisions |
| of § 4-1-2. |
| (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) the town council of the town of |
| Exeter may impose an initial impoundment fee of up to fifteen dollars ($15.00) plus two dollars |
| ($2.00) per day for each day of impoundment. |
| (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the city council of the city of East |
| Providence is authorized to enact an ordinance imposing an initial impoundment fee of up to |
| twenty dollars ($20.00) plus five dollars ($5.00) per day for each day of impoundment. |
| (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the town council of the town of |
| Richmond is authorized to enact an ordinance providing for an impoundment fee of not more than |
| twenty dollars ($20.00) per day for any impounded animal, and requiring payment of the fee |
| before an impounded animal may be released to its owner. |
| (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Foster town |
| council is authorized to enact an ordinance providing for an impoundment fee of not more than |
| fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day for any impounded animal, and requiring payment of the fee |
| before an impounded animal may be released to its owner. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC003879 |
| ======== |