Chapter 68

DOGS AND OTHER ANIMALS

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Chestertown: Art. I, 3-19-1973 (Article 11, Section 11.4, of the 1973 Code); Art. II, 6-11-1973; Art. III, 6-18-1992 as Ord. No. 3-92. Amendments noted where applicable.]

ARTICLE I

Animals and Fowl Running at Large

[Adopted 3-19-1973 (Article 11, Section 11.4, of the 1973 Code)]

~ 68-1. Definitions.

As used in this Article, the terms listed in this section shall have the meanings assigned to them as follows:

ANIMAL -- Any and all types of animals, both domesticated and wild, male and female and singular and plural.

AT LARGE -- Off the premises of the owner or custodian of the animal or fowl and not under the immediate control of the owner or custodian.

FOWL -- Any and all fowl, both domesticated and wild, male and female and singular and plural.

~ 68-2. Animals or fowl running at large prohibited.

No person owning or having in his custody animals or fowl shall permit the same to go at large to the injury or annoyance of others, nor shall such animals or fowl be permitted at large upon the streets or other public ways of the town. Such action is declared to be a nuisance and dangerous to the public health and safety.

~ 68-3. Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Article shall be deemed guilty of a municipal infraction and shall be subject to a fine as set forth in ~ C11-4B of the Charter.

ARTICLE II

Dog Regulations

[Adopted 6-11-1973]

~ 68-4. Definitions.

The following terms, as used in this Article, shall have the meanings assigned to them as follows:

DOG -- Shall be intended to mean both male and female.

DOG AT LARGE -- A dog not under restraint and off the premises of its owner.

DOG CONTROL SHELTER -- Any facility designated by the Mayor and Council for Chestertown for the detention dogs.

DOG CONTROL WARDEN -- That person or his authorized representative designated as such by the Mayor and Council of Chestertown to perform such duties as are described by this Article.

DOG UNDER RESTRAINT -- A dog secured by a leash or lead or under the control of a responsible person and obedient to that person's commands or confined within a vehicle or within the real property limits of its owner.

HEALTH OFFICER -- The duly appointed Kent County officer or his authorized representative.

KENNEL -- An establishment wherein any person, group of persons or corporation engages in the business of boarding, breeding, buying, grooming or selling dogs, or wherein at any one (1) time there are kept or harbored five (5) or more dogs over six (6) months old for a business or commercial purpose, or at which more than one (1) litter of puppies per year is offered for sale.

OWNER -- Any person, partnership, association or corporation owning, keeping, harboring or acting as custodian of a dog.

PET SHOP -- An establishment which offers to sell two (2) or more species of live animals with the intent that they be kept as pets.

PUBLIC NUISANCE DOG -- Any dog repeatedly found at large or any dog which has damaged the property of anyone other than its owner or any dog which has bitten two (2) or more persons or any dog which has been designated by the Dog Control Warden to be a "public nuisance dog" by virtue of being a menace to the public health, welfare or safety.

~ 68-5. Position of Dog Control Warden created; dog control shelter designated; enforcement authority.

The Mayor and Council of Chestertown hereby creates the position of Dog Control Warden for Chestertown and designates the appropriate location to be the dog control shelter for the town. The Dog Control Warden of Chestertown and his designated employees and agents are hereby authorized to perform those functions provided for in this Article.

~ 68-6. Licensing and fee provisions.

A. Dog licenses. It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep or harbor any dog over the age of six (6) months within Chestertown, except a dog included as part of a kennel, unless such dog is licensed as herein provided. Applications for dog licenses in Chestertown shall be presented annually on or before the first day of July of each year to the Town Manager on forms provided by the town, such applications stating the name and address of the dog's owner and the name, breed, color, age and sex of the dog. Upon the payment of the license fee, a receipt and numbered identification tag shall be issued to the owner. The annual license fee shall be three dollars ($3.) for each dog over the age of six (6) months.

B. Kennel and pet shop licenses. It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation to operate a kennel within Chestertown without possessing a valid kennel license. The application for such license shall state the name and address of the kennel operator, the location of the kennel and the maximum number of dogs to be housed in the kennel. Initial or annual fees for kennel operators and pet shop operators shall be as follows:

(1) For kennels authorized to house less than twenty-five (25) dogs: twenty-five dollars ($25.).

(2) For kennels authorized to house more than twenty-four (24) dogs: thirty-five dollars ($35.).

(3) For pet shop operators: twenty-five dollars ($25.).

C. Revocation of license. Kennel licenses and pet shop licenses may be revoked by the Dog Control Warden upon the failure of the licensee to comply with the provisions of this Article.

D. Duration of license; renewal. All dog licenses, kennel licenses and pet shop licenses shall be issued for one (1) year, beginning with the first day of July in each year. Applications made during the license year not in default as provided in this subsection shall entitle the applicant to a fee prorated to the nearest month. Applications for licenses may be made sixty (60) days prior to and thirty (30) days after the start of the licensing year or within thirty (30) days following the procurement of a dog or kennel without penalty. If, after the thirty-day time period mentioned above, the applicant makes application for a license, he shall be required to pay a penalty of fifty percent (50%) of the license fee in addition to the full annual license fee. At the time of application for a license, a certification of proof of rabies inoculation must be presented.

E. Transfer fees.

(1) If there is a change in ownership of dog or kennel during the license year, the new owner may have the current license transferred to his name upon the payment of a transfer fee of one dollar ($1.).

(2) If, prior to becoming a resident of Chestertown, a dog owner obtained a valid dog license from another governmental jurisdiction with similar requirements to those herein, a new license shall be issued to the dog owner upon written application and payment of a transfer fee of one dollar ($1.).

F. Nontransferability. It shall be unlawful for any person to use for any dog a license receipt or a license tag issued for another dog.

G. License tags.

(1) The metal dog license tag shall be securely fastened to the dog's choke chain, collar or harness and shall be worn by the dog at all times, unless such dog is engaged in supervised hunting or some other sport where a collar would endanger the dog's safety or adversely affect its hunting or sport purpose.

(2) A duplicate metal license tag to replace a lost tag shall be issued to the dog's owner upon application and the payment of fifty cents ($0.50).

~ 68-7. Running at large prohibited; exception.

It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog to allow such animal to be at large in Chestertown, meaning to be off the premises or property of the owner, unless under restraint, except dogs accompanied by the owner or trainer that are being used or trained for hunting and are being followed by the person on foot, horseback or in vehicles.

~ 68-8. Impoundment; disposition of unclaimed dogs.

A dog found at large, with or without a valid license tag, shall, except as provided above, be impounded by the Dog Control Warden and taken to the dog control shelter and be there confined in a humane manner for a period of not less than five (5) days unless sooner claimed and redeemed by its owner. The Dog Control Warden shall use whatever humane means necessary to catch the dog and is hereby relieved from any liability from harm or injury to the dog. At the end of five (5) days, as indicated above, unclaimed animals shall be deemed abandoned and become the property of the Mayor and Council of Chestertown and shall be disposed of in the manner prescribed by the Dog Control Warden and approved by the Mayor and Council of Chestertown.

~ 68-9. Redemption procedures and fees.

A. Upon impounding an animal, the Dog Control Warden shall cause a prompt and reasonable effort to be made to locate and notify the animal's owner.

B. The owner of an impounded animal shall be entitled to redeem such animal, except as hereinafter provided, upon compliance with the licensing provisions of ~ 68-6D of this Article, payment of redemption fees and proof of ownership.

C. Redemption fees, as provided in this section, shall be five dollars ($5.) for each dog and two dollars ($2.) for each calendar day or portion thereof during which the animal was boarded at the dog control shelter.

D. When dogs are found running at large and their ownership is known, such dogs, if they are legally licensed, need not be impounded by the Dog Control Warden, but he may, at his discretion, notify the owner, who can reclaim the dog upon paying the redemption fee of five dollars ($5.) without the impounding fee if the redemption is made that same day.

~ 68-10. Confinement of dangerous or vicious dogs and dogs in heat.

A. Every fierce, dangerous or vicious dog, including a dog that has a history of biting a human, shall be confined by the owner within a building or secure enclosure. Such animal shall not be taken out of such building or secure enclosure unless securely muzzled.

B. Every female dog while in heat shall be kept confined in a building or secure enclosure by the owner in such a manner that she will not be in contact, except for intentional breeding purposes, with another dog and not create a nuisance by attracting other dogs.

~ 68-11. Public nuisance dogs.

A. Determination of public nuisance. A dog which disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood in an inhabited area by excessive barking, whining or howling, molesting passersby, chasing vehicles, attacking other domestic animals or depositing excretory matter on property other than that of the owner shall be deemed a nuisance.

B. Disposition. Upon the written complaint of any person to the Dog Control Warden that a dog is a public nuisance, the Dog Control Warden shall request the Police Department of Chestertown to issue a summons to the owner or keeper of such dog to appear before the District Court of Kent County, Upon proof that the dog disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood in an inhabited area, the District Court shall order the owner or keeper to deliver up the offending dog to the Dog Control Warden to be destroyed in the most humane manner possible unless he removes the dog permanently from the neighborhood. If the owner or keeper fails to comply with the District Court's order, then it shall be the duty of the Police Department or the Dog Control Warden to seize the dog wherever it may be found and cause it to be destroyed.

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the barking of hunting dogs in pursuit of game shall not be considered a disturbance of the public peace for the purposes hereof.

~ 68-12. Applicability of licensing and fee provisions.

A. Veterinary hospitals or clinics, research facilities where bona fide medical or related research (dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or biological) is being conducted, humane shelters and other animal establishments operated by state or local governments or which are licensed by federal law are excluded from the kennel licensing requirements of this Article.

B. Upon written permission from the Mayor and Council of Chestertown, the licensing requirements of this Article shall not apply to any dogs belonging to nonresidents of the town and kept within the boundaries of the town for not longer than thirty (30) days and, while kept within the town, meet all other requirements of this Article.

C. Owners of dogs used as Seeing Eye dogs or as governmental police dogs are exempt from those fee requirements imposed by ~ 68-6D of this Article.

~ 68-13. Right of entry authorized for Dog Control Warden.

The Dog Control Warden shall have the right to enter upon any premises at all reasonable times for the purpose of discharging the duties imposed upon him by this Article where there is reasonable belief that a violation of this Article has been committed.

~ 68-14. Maintenance of records required.

It shall be the duty of the Dog Control Warden to keep accurate and detailed records on the licensing, impoundment and disposition of all dogs coming into his custody, accurate and detailed records on all reported bite cases and investigations for a period of three (3) years and accurate and detailed records on all moneys collected and expended in the operation of the functions of his office. All records required by this Article shall be subject to inspection by the Mayor and Council for Chestertown or its designated agents.

~ 68-15. Violations and penalties.

Any person violating any provisions of this Article shall be deemed guilty of a municipal infraction and shall be subject to a fine as set forth in ~ C11-4B of the Charter.

ARTICLE III

Wild, Dangerous and Poisonous Animals

[Adopted 6-18-1992 as Ord. No. 3-92]

~ 68-16. Keeping of wild, dangerous or poisonous animals.

It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, to permit to be kept, to exhibit, to temporarily hold or to breed any dangerous, wild or feral, poisonous or venomous or vicious animal of any kind within the town limits of Chestertown. This would include but not be limited to alligators, bears, boa constrictors, undomesticated or vicious animals of the cat and dog family, coyotes, crocodiles, falcons, ferrets, foxes, hawks, opossums, pythons, raccoons, reptiles, snakes and wolves.

~ 68-17. Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm, corporation violating the provisions of ~ 68-16 shall be guilty of a municipal infraction of one hundred dollars ($100.) for a single, initial violation and two hundred dollars ($200.) for each repeat or continuing violation. Each day following the initial day shall constitute a separate offense.