Sec. 14-132Responsibilities of dog control officer

(a) Upon receiving a report that a dog has acted in a dangerous or potentially dangerous manner, the dog control officer shall investigate the allegations and make a determination as to the truthfulness of said allegations. After concluding the investigation, the dog control officer shall:

(1) Decide the classification of the dog as dangerous or potentially dangerous is not required;

(2) Classify the dog as potentially dangerous; or

(3) Classify the dog as dangerous.

(b) In the event that the dog control officer classifies the dog under investigation as "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous," the dog control officer must notify the owner(s) by certified mail. The notice shall include a summary of the reason for which the animal has been classified and provide the owners with a form to request a hearing to contest the classification within 15 days of the notice date. If no hearing is requested, the dog's classification goes into effect on the fifteenth day.

(c) An owner who requests a hearing shall be provided a hearing before the city council within 30 days. The owners must be notified of the hearing date, time, and location by certified mail. The hearing shall be conducted such that owners have the opportunity to present their testimony, cross examine witnesses, and present evidence. The city council shall receive such other evidence and hear such other testimony as is reasonably necessary to make a determination to either sustain, modify, or overrule the dog control officer's classification of the dog. Within ten days after the hearing, the city council shall make a final determination as to the classification of the dog and provide notice of its determination by certified mail to the owners. In the event that the city council, after a hearing, classifies a dog as "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous," the effective date of such classification, which shall be the date the decision is made, must be given.