§ 420 — Definitions

§ 420. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n 1. "Adoption" means the transfer of legal ownership to and possession\nby any natural person eighteen years of age or older, for the limited\npurpose of harboring a pet, of any dog or cat, owned by the animal\nshelter regardless of whether a fee is involved.\n 2. "Adult" shall mean cats and dogs five months of age and older, for\nthe purposes of determining appropriate housing within an animal\nshelter.\n 3. "Animal" shall mean a dog or cat as defined in this section, but\nshall not be construed to diminish or restrict the mission of any animal\nshelter defined in this section or other entity duly incorporated\npursuant to section fourteen hundred three of the not-for-profit\ncorporation law solely to the care of dogs or cats.\n 4. "Air handling system" shall mean the device or equipment used to\nregulate, circulate, exchange, heat, and/or cool the air inside a\nbuilding.\n 5. "Ambient temperature" shall mean the temperature of the environment\ninside a room or building.\n 6. "Animal shelter" shall mean a public or not-for-profit entity\nowning, operating, or otherwise maintaining a building, structure, or\nfacility where temporary or permanent housing and care is provided to\nstray, abandoned, abused, seized, impounded, owner-surrendered or\notherwise unwanted animals regardless of whether or not such facility\nalso serves as a personal residence. This includes but is not limited\nto: facilities owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated\nsociety for the prevention of cruelty to animals, duly incorporated\nhumane society dog or cat protective association, or pound; any person\nin the employ of, or organization operated by or under contract to a\nmunicipality to provide care for seized or impounded animals; or any\nother not-for-profit organization involved in the protection, care, or\nrehoming of animals. Unless otherwise provided in this article, the\nterm "animal shelter" shall not include the personal residence of any\nfoster care provider as defined in this section; a facility commonly\nknown as a boarding kennel, where the ownership of the animal is not\ntransferred; any entity licensed as a pet dealer pursuant to article\ntwenty-six-A of this chapter; any duly incorporated animal hospital\nowned, operated or supervised by a duly licensed veterinarian; or any\nfacility where the owner or operator is licensed by the New York state\ndepartment of environmental conservation as a nuisance wildlife control\nagent or wildlife rehabilitator.\n 7. "Aseptic" shall mean procedures or techniques performed in a manner\nsufficient to exclude harmful bacteria, viruses, or other\nmicroorganisms.\n 8. "Behavioral evaluation" shall mean an ordered series of\ninteractions with an animal to determine their behavioral response to\nvarious stimuli likely to be encountered in a typical home environment.\n 9. "Cat" shall mean any member of the species Felis catus, regardless\nof age, sex, breed, ownership status or behavior around humans.\n 10. "Chemical capture" shall mean the use of drugs administered to an\nanimal by a remote delivery system in order to immobilize it for the\npurposes of capture.\n 11. "Cleaning" shall mean the physical removal of debris and organic\nmaterial from an environment.\n 12. "Conspecific" shall mean another member of the same species.\n 13. "Control pole" shall mean a restraint device consisting of a rigid\nmetal pole with an adjustable wire noose used for handling and restraint\nof dogs, also commonly referred to as a catch pole or rabies pole.\n 14. "Death", for the purposes of describing the disposition of an\nanimal, shall mean those animals who die but are not euthanized,\nregardless of cause.\n 15. "Disinfection" shall mean the process where microorganisms are\nkilled or inactivated, typically through the application of a chemical\nor by some physical process (e.g. steam, heat, etc).\n 16. "Dog" shall mean any member of the species Canis lupis familiaris,\nregardless of age, sex, breed, ownership status, or behavior around\nhumans.\n 17. "Drop boxes" shall mean unattended enclosures at an animal shelter\nthat are accessible to the public and used to contain animals brought to\nthe animal shelter outside of regular business hours.\n 18. "Enclosure" shall be defined as an area of confinement used for\nhousing a single animal or group of animals housed together. An\nenclosure may be a cage, run, kennel, room, or other such confining\narea.\n 19. "Enriched" shall mean environment that reduces stress and promotes\nthe physical health and behavioral well-being of an animal.\n 20. "Enrichment" shall mean a process for improving the environment\nand behavioral care of confined animals in order to reduce stress and\nimprove well-being. Enrichment shall include, but not be limited to,\nproviding physical and mental stimulation, encouraging species-typical\nbehaviors, and modifying the animal's housing environment.\n 21. "Foster care provider" shall mean any individual voluntarily\nproviding temporary care for one or more animals in their home that\nremain in the custody and under the responsibility of an animal shelter.\n 22. "Infectious disease" shall mean a disease or condition caused by\nbacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites that can be transmitted, directly\nor indirectly, from one animal or individual to another.\n 23. "Intracardiac" shall mean an injection made directly into one of\nthe chambers of the heart.\n 24. "Intrahepatic" shall mean an injection made into the liver.\n 25. "Intrarenal" shall mean an injection made into the kidney.\n 26. "Intrasplenic" shall mean an injection made into the spleen.\n 27. "Juvenile" shall mean any cat or dog between two and five months\nof age for the purposes of determining appropriate housing within an\nanimal shelter.\n 28. "Loss" for the purposes of describing the disposition of an\nanimal, shall mean those animals who escape or go missing while in the\ncare of an animal shelter.\n 29. "Long-term stay" shall mean any duration of care in an animal\nshelter of fourteen days or longer.\n 30. "Neonate" shall mean any cat or dog less than two months of age,\nfor the purposes of determining appropriate housing within an animal\nshelter.\n 31. "Pathogen" shall mean a biologic organism capable of causing\ndisease in an animal, such as a bacteria, virus, or fungus.\n 32. "Primary enclosure" shall mean the area of confinement used for\nhousing an animal and where the animal spends the majority of its time\nin an animal shelter.\n 33. "Thermoregulation" shall mean the ability of an animal to maintain\nits internal body temperature within a normal physiologic range.\n 34. "Transport" shall mean the physical movement of an animal from one\nlocation to another, regardless of purpose and whether or not custody or\nresponsibility for such animal changes as a result, when carried out by\nthe shelter or an agent thereof.\n 35. "Transfer" shall mean the transfer of ownership and physical\ncustody of an animal for an animal's care and well-being from an animal\nshelter to another organization as authorized pursuant to subdivision\nfive of section three hundred seventy-four of this chapter.\n 36. "Unenveloped virus" shall mean those viruses without an outer\nlipid layer that are more difficult to inactivate through sanitation\nprocedures. Unenveloped viruses of concern in an animal shelter\nenvironment include canine and feline parvoviruses, feline calicivirus,\nand canine adenovirus-2.\n 37. "Zoonotic" shall mean any disease that may be transmitted between\nhumans and animals.\n