Sec. 14-11. Rabies control.
(a) Inoculation. Any animal lawfully kept as a household pet or working in the city which is capable of transmitting rabies shall be inoculated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian before attaining the age of six months unless the owner presents to the Aurora animal services division a written statement from a licensed Colorado veterinarian that vaccination for rabies would be detrimental to the health of the specific animal. Such vaccination shall be kept current at all times with booster shots administered by a licensed veterinarian on or before the appropriate anniversary date of the initial inoculation. The owner acquiring such animal without current rabies inoculation and tag shall have such animal inoculated against rabies within 30 days after the acquisition or when the animal reaches six months of age. No owner, when requested to do so by an animal protection officer, shall fail to immediately present to the requesting officer evidence of a current rabies inoculation for the animal.
(b) Biting animals; quarantine. The owner of any dog or other animal required by this section to be inoculated against rabies that has bitten any person or other animal shall immediately notify an animal protection officer or the animal shelter of such. Any domestic dog or other animal covered by this section that has bitten any person shall be immediately confined and observed for a period of no fewer than 10 days from the date of the bite or exposure. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog or other animal that has bitten any person to destroy or have euthanized such dog or other animal before it can be properly confined and observed under the supervision of the animal protection officer unless otherwise ordered by the Colorado Department of Health. Such confinement may be on the premises of the owner if deemed an appropriate and sufficient safeguard in the discretion of the animal protection officer. If not on the owner's premises, the confinement shall be at the city animal shelter or any licensed veterinary hospital of the owner's choice if approved by the Aurora animal services division. Cost of such confinement shall be at the sole expense of the owner.
(c) Removal from quarantine. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove from quarantine any animal which has been quarantined pursuant to this section, without the express consent of the Aurora animal services division manager, shelter supervisor, shelter veterinarian, shelter veterinary technician, or animal protection officer.
(d) Diagnosis by veterinarian.
(1) When an animal under quarantine has been diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian as being rabid, the veterinarian making such diagnosis shall immediately notify the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and advise it of any reports of human contact with such rabid animal.
(2) If any animal under quarantine dies while under observation and before a diagnosis has been made, the animal protection officer shall immediately take action to notify the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment which will take action to obtain a pathological and inoculation examination and inoculation history of the animal.
(3) If, after the 10-day or longer confinement and observation period provided for in this section, the dog or other animal is determined not to show symptoms of rabies at that time the quarantined animal may be released from confinement by the animal protection officer unless the animal is being held pursuant to section 14-4. (Code 1979, § 7-8; Ord. No. 2020-55, § 12, 11-2-2020; Ord. No. 2002-70, § 4, 11-18-2002; Ord. No. 99-57, § 1, 8-16-1999)