ARTICLE III. DOGS
DIVISION I. GENERALLY
Sec. 4-38.
Dogs killing or injuring livestock or poultry.
(a) It shall be the duty of the animal control officer or other
officer, when he finds a dog in the act of killing or injuring livestock
or poultry, to kill such dog forthwith, whether such dog bears a tag or
not, and any person finding a dog committing any of the depredations
mentioned in this section shall have the right to kill such dog on sight,
as shall any owner of livestock or his agent finding a dog chasing
livestock on land utilized by the livestock when the circumstances show
that such chasing is harmful to the livestock. Any court shall have the
power to order the animal control officer or other officer to kill any dog
known to be a confirmed livestock or poultry killer, and any dog killing
poultry for the third time shall be considered a confirmed poultry
killer. The court, through its contempt powers, may compel the owner,
custodian or harborer of the dog to produce the dog.
(b)
If the animal control officer has reason to believe that any dog is killing
livestock or poultry, he shall be empowered to seize such dog solely for the
purpose of examining such dog in order to determine whether it committed any
of the depredations mentioned in this section.
(c)
If the animal control officer or any other person has reason to believe that
any dog is killing livestock, or committing any of the depredations
mentioned in this section, he shall apply to a magistrate of the county, who
shall issue a warrant requiring the owner or custodian of the dog, if known,
to appear before the general district court at a time and place named
therein, at which time evidence shall be heard and, if it shall appear that
such a dog is a livestock killer, or has committed any of the depredations
mentioned in this section, the dog shall be (i) ordered killed immediately,
which the animal control officer, or other officer designated by the judge
of the court to act, shall do, or (ii) removed to another state which does
not border on the Commonwealth and prohibited from returning to the
Commonwealth. Any dog ordered removed from the Commonwealth which is later
found in the Commonwealth shall be ordered by a court to be killed
immediately.
(d)
Any person who has any livestock or poultry killed or injured by any dog not
his own shall be entitled to receive as compensation the fair market value
of such livestock or poultry, not to exceed four hundred dollars ($400.00)
per animal or ten dollars ($10.00) per fowl; provided, that the claimant has
furnished evidence within sixty (60) days of discovery of the quantity and
value of the dead or injured livestock and the reasons the claimant believes
that death or injury was caused by a dog; the animal control officer or
other officer shall have been notified of the incident with seventy-two (72)
hours of its discovery; and the claimant first has exhausted his legal
remedies against the owner, if known, of the dog doing the damage for which
compensation under this section is sought. Exhaustion shall mean a judgment
against the owner of the dog upon which an execution has been returned
unsatisfied. Upon payment under this section, the board of supervisors
shall be subrogated to the extent of compensation paid to the right of
action to the owner of the livestock or poultry against the owner of the dog
and may enforce the same in an appropriate action at law.
(Ord. No. 03-19, 6/17/03) |