CAMPBELL — City council has adopted an ordinance that promises to add more bite to a law passed 19 months ago that is aimed at protecting dogs and other animals from abuse and neglect.

“We are serious. We have put our foot down,” city Councilman Timothy O’Bryan, D-1st Ward, said after Wednesday’s regular council meeting.

By a 5-0 vote, council approved the ordinance that will be in conjunction with an anti-tethering law the city passed in June 2022 and is designed to crack down on homeowners who chronically abuse or neglect their companion animals. It also provides stricter guidelines for outdoor enclosures.

Such shelters must be at least 600 square feet per animal, and pet owners will be required to ensure feces and other waste materials are removed regularly to prevent rats and other rodents as well as the spread of disease. It also forbids pets from having to sleep on concrete floors, since they tend to hold heat and cold.

Also, the ordinance requires pets to be indoors when the temperature is below 35 degrees or above 85 degrees, as well as during severe weather watches and warnings.

Before the ordinance was approved, officer Jim Conroy of the Campbell Police Department had consulted with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, two national animal-rights organizations. Many of their recommendations are included in the ordinance’s language, which also was the result of an extensive review process, council President George Levendis said recently.

In chronic abuse and neglect situations that aren’t corrected, Conroy, who also handles code enforcement for the city, will have the authority to confiscate the animal. Consequently, the owner may face a first-degree misdemeanor charge and have to go before a judge to have the pet returned, Levendis explained.

In addition, the person would be responsible for the costs associated with the pet’s care after it had been seized, he said, adding that such animals likely would be taken to foster homes before being returned or adopted.

“I’m glad we’re standing up for animals,” Levendis said.

Councilman Robert J. Stanko, D-4th Ward, noted that pets will be taken only as a last resort. The overriding goal is to work with homeowners and get them to comply, he said.

The ordinance also comes after an uptick in animal abuse cases were reported in the city late last year.

O’Bryan said the ordinance strikes a chord with him because when he adopted his dog, the animal had been found during a home rescue with several other dogs. His pet also suffered a bite wound to its ear as well as an injury to the tail, he remembered.