Title
Proposed Revisions to the Lake County Health Department Animal Care and Control Administrative Procedures and Policies (as authorized in Lake County Code of Ordinances Chapter 172) - Mackey
Body
Lake County Code of Ordinances Chapter 172 authorizes the Health Officer to administer and enforce Lake County Animal Care and Control Program Administrative Procedures and Policies (ACC P&P). The Administrative Procedures and Policies provide direction to staff on how to enforce and interpret Chater 172, conduct the activities of the program, and in general assure consistency and continuity in program policies and procedures.
The proposed revisions to the ACC P&P are for clarity in the application and enforcement of Chapter 172, and to align with the Chapter and its referenced statutes. The proposed revisions are:
• Throughout the document, language is amended for clarity and selected terms are replaced for clarity and consistency with Chapter 172
o Certain references to an “owner” were adjusted to align with the State law “owner” definition
o “Inoculated” is replaced with “vaccinated”
o Where appropriate “animal” is replaced by “dog or cat”
• The section on confinement and rabies observation of biting animals was revised to add and/or clarify conditions for the issuance of waivers, home vs. hospital confinement requirements, and animal to animal bites
• A provision is added to waive the registration fee for a fostered dog or cat that was sourced through the ACC shelter to incentivize fostering
• The specification of a $2.00 fee for a replacement or duplicate tag was removed; the $2.00 fee was added as a revision to the ACC Fees Schedule
• A provision is added that the Health Officer may elect to not impound when an animal is microchipped and registered to a local owner
• In the section on Trap/Neuter/Return, a provision was added to clarify that if a cat from a recognized colony is impounded, the cost for any veterinary services must be paid in order to redeem the cat
These proposed revisions were reviewed and approved by the Environmental Health Advisory Committee at their February 17, 2025 meeting.
Suggested Motion
To approve the revisions to Lake County Health Department Animal Care and Control Administrative Procedures and Policies as proposed.