[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Middleton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-12-1987 ATM by Art. 38]
A. 
All dogs six months old or older must be licensed and tagged. Licensing will be done in the office of the Town Clerk. The owner or keeper of an unlicensed dog after June 1 will be fined $10 per dog in addition to the license fee. After July 1 the fine will be $15 per dog, and after August 1 $25 per dog.
[Amended 11-29-2005 STM by Art. 19]
B. 
All monies collected for licenses and fines will be retained by the Town.
C. 
License fees shall be $15 for all neutered or spayed dogs and $20 for all unneutered or unspayed dogs. Kennel license fees: four dogs, $50; 10 dogs, $75; more than 10 dogs, $100.
[Amended 5-12-1998 ATM by Art. 15; 7-28-2020]
A. 
The Animal Control Officer shall attend to all complaints and other matters pertaining to dogs and shall take whatever legal action is authorized by law.
B. 
If the Animal Control Officer determines that a female animal in heat, even when confined, is attracting other animals, thus causing a disturbance or damage to neighboring property or public areas, the Animal Control Officer may require the owner or keeper to keep said animal, while in heat, in a kennel or to remove it from the area so that the nuisance is abated.
C. 
The Animal Control Officer is authorized to require owners or keepers of dogs to restrain their dogs from running at large in schools, school playgrounds, parks or public recreation areas. The Animal Control Officer may also require owners or keepers of dogs to restrain their dogs from running at large when they determine that any such dog is an annoyance, is dangerous, or is known to cause damage in a neighborhood.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
D. 
The owner or keeper of a dog, about which the Animal Control Officer has issued an order under the above sections of this bylaw, who wishes to appeal said order, may make such appeal in writing to the Chief of Police within 10 days of the issuance of the order. The Police Chief may settle the case after holding a public hearing overruling the Animal Control Officer by agreement with the appellant, or by instructing the Animal Control Officer to proceed with enforcement procedures as set forth in MGL c. 140, § 173A.
E. 
If the owner or keeper fails to comply with the order of the Animal Control Officer and does not appeal to the Police Chief, the Animal Control Officer shall proceed to enforce the order as provided by law.
[Amended 11-29-2005 STM by Art. 19]
[Amended 11-29-2005 STM by Art. 19; 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
Boarding charges, pickup fees for stray and nuisance dogs and other fees shall be established by the Select Board and filed with the Town Clerk.
[Adopted 11-5-2019 STM by Art. 13]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DANGEROUS DOG
A dog that either:
A. 
Without justification, attacks a person or domestic animal causing physical injury or death; or
B. 
Behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses an unjustified imminent threat of physical injury or death to a person or to a domestic or owned animal.
KEEPER
A person, business, corporation, entity, or society, other than the owner, having possession of a dog.
NUISANCE DOG
A dog that:
A. 
By excessive barking or other disturbance, is a source of annoyance to a sick person residing in the vicinity; or
B. 
By excessive barking, causing damage or other interference, a reasonable person would find such behavior disruptive to one's quiet and peaceful enjoyment; or
C. 
Has threatened or attacked livestock, a domestic animal or a person, but such threat or attack was not a grossly disproportionate reaction under all the circumstances.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
A. 
Complaint. Any person may file a written complaint with the Select Board that a dog kept in the Town is a nuisance dog.
B. 
Disposition. The Select Board shall investigate or cause to be investigated the complaint, including an examination under oath of the complainant at a public hearing. Based on credible evidence and testimony presented at the public hearing, the Select Board shall take the following action:
(1) 
If the dog is complained of as a nuisance dog, the Select Board shall either:
(a) 
Deem the dog a nuisance dog; or
(b) 
Dismiss the complaint.
(2) 
If the Select Board declares that a dog is a nuisance dog, it may order the owner or keeper of the dog to take remedial action to ameliorate the cause of the nuisance behavior.
A. 
No dog shall be deemed dangerous:
(1) 
Solely based upon growling, barking, or both;
(2) 
Based upon the breed of the dog; or
(3) 
If, at the time of the incident in question, the dog was reacting to another animal or person in a manner not grossly disproportionate to any of the following circumstances:
(a) 
The dog was protecting or defending itself, its offspring, another domestic animal, or a person from attack or assault;
(b) 
The person attacked or threatened by the dog was committing a crime upon the person or property of the owner or keeper of the dog;
(c) 
The person attacked or threatened was engaged in teasing, tormenting, battering, assaulting, injuring, or otherwise provoking the dog; or
(d) 
At the time of the attack or threat, the person or animal attacked or threatened had breached an enclosure or structure, including but not limited to a gated and fenced-in area, in which the dog was kept apart from the public, without being authorized to do so by the owner of the premises.
(4) 
A child under age seven shall be rebuttably presumed not to have been committing a crime, provoking the dog, or trespassing at the time of the attack or threat.
B. 
Complaint. Any person may file a written complaint with the Select Board that a dog kept in the Town is a dangerous dog.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
C. 
Disposition. The Select Board shall investigate or cause to be investigated the complaint, including an examination under oath of the complainant at a public hearing. Based on credible evidence and testimony presented at the public hearing, the Select Board shall take the following action. If the dog is complained of as a dangerous dog, the Select Board shall either:
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
(1) 
Deem the dog a dangerous dog;
(2) 
Deem the dog a nuisance dog; or
(3) 
Dismiss the complaint.
D. 
Remedies. If the Select Board declares that a dog is a dangerous dog, it may order one or more of the following remedies:
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
(1) 
That the dog be humanely restrained; but no order shall require that a dog be chained, tethered, or otherwise tied to an inanimate object including, but not limited to, a tree, post, or building;
(2) 
That the dog be confined to the premises of the owner or keeper, meaning securely confined indoors or confined outdoors in a securely enclosed pen or dog run area that has a secure roof, has either a floor secured to all sides or is embedded into the ground for at least two feet, and provides the dog with proper shelter from the elements;
(3) 
That when the dog is removed from the premises of the owner or keeper, the dog be securely and humanely muzzled and restrained with a chain or other tethering device with a maximum length of three feet and a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds;
(4) 
That the owner or keeper of the dog provide to the Select Board either:
(a) 
Proof of insurance of at least $100,000 insuring the owner or keeper against any claim, loss, damage, or injury to persons, domestic animals, or property resulting from the intentional or unintentional acts of the dog; or
(b) 
Proof that reasonable efforts were made to obtain such insurance;
(5) 
That the owner or keeper of the dog provide to the Select Board or Animal Control Officer or other entity as directed identifying information for the dog including, but not limited to, photographs, videos, veterinary records, tattooing, implantations, or a combination of these;
(6) 
That the dog be altered so as not to be reproductively intact, unless the owner or keeper provides evidence of a veterinary opinion that the dog is medically unfit for such alteration; or
(7) 
That the dog be humanely euthanized.
E. 
Restrictions after declaration of dangerousness.
(1) 
No dog that has been deemed dangerous shall be ordered removed from the Town.
(2) 
No person over the age of 17 who has actual knowledge that a dog has been deemed dangerous under this bylaw shall permit a child under the age of 17 to own, possess, or have care or custody of that dog.
(3) 
No person shall transfer ownership or possession of a dog which such person knows, reasonably should have known, has been deemed dangerous under this bylaw or offer such dangerous dog for sale or breeding without informing the recipient of the dog of the finding of dangerousness.
F. 
Signs.
(1) 
Any owner or keeper of a dog that has been deemed dangerous must conspicuously display a sign approved by the Animal Control Officer with a warning symbol that informs children of the presence of such dog and a sign easily readable by the public using the words "dangerous dog."
(2) 
Signs are to be posted at each entrance to the house and on gates that are part of a fence enclosing the premises as well as on any pen.
Within 10 days of the issuance of any order under this article, the owner or keeper of the dog declared a nuisance dog or a dangerous dog may bring a petition for judicial review in the district court for the judicial district in which the order was issued or where the dog is owned or kept.
A. 
Seizure/impoundment. If an owner or a keeper of a dog is found in violation of an order issued under this bylaw, the dog may be subject to seizure and impoundment by the Animal Control Officer or a law enforcement officer as allowed by law. If it is the keeper who is in violation, all reasonable efforts shall be made to notify the owner of such seizure and impoundment and the owner may, within seven days, petition the Select Board for return of the dog.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
B. 
Capture/euthanasia. A dog found to be in violation of a Select Board order or district court order issued under this bylaw or in accordance with MGL c. 140, § 157 may be captured or detained by a police officer, the Animal Control Officer, or a constable. In the case of a threat to public safety or if the dog is living in a wild state, the police officer, Animal Control Officer, or constable may euthanize it humanely.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
C. 
Future licensure. Any owner or keeper who fails to comply with an order of the Select Board or the district court issued under this section shall be prohibited from licensing a dog within the commonwealth for five years.
[Amended 6-5-2021 ATM by Art. 28]
D. 
Noncriminal disposition. Any enforcing person, as set forth below, taking cognizance of a violation of this bylaw, may, as an alternative to initiating criminal proceedings, enforce this bylaw noncriminally pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 21D, and in accordance with § 1-2 of the Middleton Bylaws. For purposes of this section, the following shall be enforcing persons: Animal Control Officer, constable, and law enforcement officer. The specific penalty for violation shall be the amount established in § 1-2 of the Middleton Bylaws.