§ 14-115. Transfer of dog or cat to animal abuser prohibited.

(a)

No person shall knowingly sell, exchange, or otherwise transfer the possession of a dog or cat to any person identified as an animal abuser on the online link established at Pascoclerk.com.

(b)

Prior to sale, exchange, or other transfer of possession of a dog or cat, animal shelters, pet sellers, humane organizations, large kennels, kennels, breeders, pet dealers, pet sellers, and rescue organizations shall examine the animal abuser link to confirm that the potential owner of the dog or cat is not identified on the link as a convicted animal abuser. Upon request from an animal control officer, the entity shall provide proof by affidavit or otherwise, that it confirmed the absence of such information on the animal abuser link at the time of the transfer. The entity shall create records at or before the time of the transfer to show who examined the link, the date and time of the examination, and results of the examination of the online link; these records shall be retained for five years. Entities shall produce the records to Pasco County for examination upon request. Failure to examine the registry prior to transfer, maintain required records, or to produce them upon request are violations of this Code.

(c)

This section shall not apply to the transfer of farm animals or to service animals.

(d)

This section does not apply to animal abusers when the abuser's conviction is successfully appealed, expunged, or more than five years prior.

(Ord. No. 17-01, § 3, 1-10-17)