§ 22–1004. Arrests without warrant authorized; notice to owner.

(a) A person found violating the laws in relation to cruelty to animals may be arrested and held without a warrant, in the manner provided by § 44-1505, and the person making an arrest, with or without a warrant, shall use reasonable diligence to give notice thereof to the owner of animals found in the charge or custody of the person arrested and shall properly care and provide for such animals until the owner thereof shall take charge of the same.

(b)(1) A humane officer of the Washington Humane Society may take possession of any animal to protect it from neglect or cruelty. The person taking possession of the animal or animals shall use reasonable diligence to give notice thereof to the owner of animals found in the charge or custody of the person arrested and shall properly care and provide for the animals until the owner shall take charge of the animals.

(2) If the owner or custodian of the animal or animals fails to respond after 20 days, the animal or animals shall become the property of the Washington Humane Society and the Washington Humane Society shall have the authority to:

(A) Place the animal or animals up for adoption in a suitable home;

(B) Retain the animal or animals, or

(C) Humanely destroy the animal or animals.

(c)(1) The owner of an animal seized pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section may request a hearing regarding the possession of the animal within the 20-day period provided by subsection (b)(2) of this section. If the hearing officer finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the owner did abandon, neglect, or cruelly treat the animal, the animal shall become the property of the Washington Humane Society as provided by subsection (b)(2) of this section, except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(2) If the hearing officer does not find that the owner abandoned, neglected, or cruelly treated the animal, the hearing officer shall order the return of the animal to the owner, except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The hearing officer may order the owner to reimburse the Washington Humane Society for the reasonable costs to care for, feed, and treat the animal during the period in which the animal was in the possession of the Washington Humane Society.

(3) During the pendency of a criminal investigation, prosecution, appeal, or other action arising from an act related to the seizure of the animal, the hearing officer shall order the animal to the possession of the Washington Humane Society and shall order the owner to post a bond sufficient to cover the reasonable costs to care for, feed, and treat the animal for 30 days. At the expiration of the initial bond, or subsequent bond, if the criminal investigation, prosecution, appeal, or other action remains pending, the owner shall post an additional bond sufficient to cover the reasonable costs to care for, feed, and treat the animal for an additional 30 days. If an owner fails to post a bond within 5 days after an order or obligation pursuant to this paragraph, the animal shall become the property of the Washington Humane Society as provided by subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(4) The Washington Humane Society may draw on any bond required to be posted pursuant to this section for the actual reasonable costs of providing care, feeding, and treatment of the seized animal. The reasonable costs incurred in excess of such bond shall be a lien on the animal and shall be discharged by the owner before the animal may be released to the owner.

(5)(A) Upon the resolution of the criminal investigation, prosecution, appeal, or other action resulting in the animal being placed in the possession of the Washington Humane Society, and if there is no judicial ruling on the disposition of the animal, the hearing officer shall conduct a hearing on the disposition of the animal.

(B) If the hearing officer finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the owner did abandon, neglect, or cruelly treat the animal, the animal shall become the property of the Washington Humane Society as provided by subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(C) If the hearing officer does not find that the owner abandoned, neglected, or cruelly treated the animal, the hearing officer shall order the return of the animal to the owner, provided that the animal is not subject to a lien as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(D) If the resolution of the criminal investigation, prosecution, appeal, or other action results in the forfeiture of the animal, the hearing officer need not conduct a hearing, and the animal shall become the property of the Washington Humane Society as provided by subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(6)(A) The Mayor shall establish by rulemaking a notice and hearing process for the owner of the animal to contest the seizure, detention, and terms of release and treatment of the animal, the allegation of cruelty, abandonment, or neglect and the imposition of the lien and costs associated for caring and providing for the animal.

(B) Within 90 days after April 21, 2023, the proposed rules shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day review period of review, excluding weekends, legal holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove of the proposed rules, by resolution, within the 45-day review period, the rules shall be deemed approved.

(d)(1) An owner may seek judicial review before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia within 5 days after:

(A) Receipt of notice of a final decision issued by the President of the Washington Humane Society, or the President's designee under 24 DCMR § 1509.1; or

(B) Receipt of notice that the owner has failed to comply with the conditions of return pursuant to 24 DCMR § 1511 issued by the President of the Washington Humane Society, or the President's designee.

(2) This subsection shall apply to all cases pending before the court as of April 21, 2023.