Year: 1878

An Act relating to Dogs.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep

 resentatives in General Assembly convened

 Section1. Every owner or keeper of dog or dogs shall annually, on or before the first day of May in each year, cause said dog or dogs to be registered, numbered, described and licensed for one year in the town clerks office in the town wherein said dog is owned, kept or harbored, and shall keep around it's neck collar distinctly marked with it's owners name and it's registered number, and shall pay to said town clerk, for license, the sum of two dollars and fifteen cents for each male and six dollars and fifteen cents for each female dog.

 Sec. 2. Any person becoming the owner or keeper of dog or dogs not duly licensed on or after the first day of May, 1878, shall forth with cause said dog or dogs to be registered, numbered, described and licensed until the first day of the ensuing May, in the manner and subject to the terms and conditions pre- scribed in section first.

 Sec. 3. Any deg not so licensed and collar ed are provided in this act may be lawfully killed by any person, and such person killing said dog and presenting satisfactory proof thereof to either of the selectmeR shall be paid a bounty of $1 by said selectmen from the treasury of the town wherein such dog was killed.

 Sec. 4. Chapter one, title twelve, section thirty three of the revised statutes of 1875 pro- viding for the taxation of dogs, is hereby re- pealed, and any taxes already assessed under this act are abated and the amount of taxes collected on the list of October, 1877, shall be credited on any license taken by such per- sons who have paid the same.

 Sec 5. The town clerk of said town shall ;s- sue said licenses and receive the money these for, and after deducting fifteen cents for each and every dog so licensed and numbered, shall pay the same to the treasurer of the town with in thirty days thereafter.

 Sec. {. That any persons owning or keeping a dog or dogs who shall fail to comply with the requirements of this act concerning the reg istratiOn of their dog or dogs, and the payment of said license for the same, shall be guilty of misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than seven dollars or imprisoned in the county jail not more than thirty days or both. It shall be the duty of grand jurors and all other prosecuting officers to prosecute any violation of this act.

 Sec. 2. Damage done by dogs to sheep or lambs or cattle proved to the satisfaction of the selectmen to have been committed in their town, shall be paid by such town and it may recover such damages when paid, from the owner or keeper of such dog or dogs if resi- dents of such town, but if the owner or owners shall not be residents of the town in which the

 

 stitute suit against the town or towns where such owner or owners reside, unless such own CT or owners or such town or towns, shall on notice pay to the treasurer of the town where such damage was done the amount of such damage, and any town which shall be obliged to pay any damage as aforesaid, may recover the amount thereof from the owner or owners of the dog or dogs doing such damage.

 Sec. $. Every person the owner, keeper or harberer of any dog or dogs, shall either kill said dog or dogs or muzzle the same to the acceptance of the selectmen of the town wherein said dog or dogs are owned or kept until such time of said selectmen shall or der said muZZle removed from said dog or dogs. And person who shallrefuse or neglect to com ply with the conditions of this act shall be sub- ject to the fines and penalties contained in sec- | tion six of this act.

 Sec. The selectmen of every town in this l State shall immediately on the passage of this l act or as soon as the same shall come to their l knowledge, post notice in every school dis trict in the town wherein said selectmen reside, setting forth all the requirements of this law with all the fines and penalties for non -compli- ance with the same.

 Sec. 10. That any person or persons, who shall kill any dog or dogs SO registered, as aforesaid shall, unless such killing be justiia- ble, in the protection of life or property be li- ble to the owner or owners of such dog or dogs in an action of damages, on this statute, for the full value of such dog or dogs, such value to be established by competen6 evidence, and d. so be liable to prosecution upon the complaint of grand juror of the town where the owner or keeper of such dog or dogs shall reside, and shall, on conviction, be fined not more than seven dollars orimprisoned not more than thlr l ty days or both.

 Sec. Il. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed.

 Approved March 27, 1878.