[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Pennsbury as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-3-1977]
It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper
of any dog to fail to keep at all times such dog either: confined
within the premises of the owner; or firmly secured by means of a
collar and chain or other device so that it can not stray beyond the
premises on which it is secured; or under the reasonable control of
some person, including when engaged in lawful hunting or field training
accompanied by an owner or handler; or to willfully permit any dog
to urinate or defecate upon the property of another.
For purposes of enforcement of this article,
this Township Supervisors shall appoint a Township Animal Control
Officer. The Animal Control Officer shall be paid such compensation
and reimbursed for such costs as shall be agreed upon between himself
and the Township Supervisors. The Animal Control Officer shall be
authorized to enter upon the premises within the Township of any person
for the purpose of investigating alleged violations of this article.
A.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of
this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 2-22-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-1]
B.
In addition to prosecution for violations of this
article, the Township Animal Control Officer, upon his own initiative
or upon receipt of a proper complaint, may seize and detain any dog
which is found running at large, either upon the public streets or
highways in the Township, or upon the property of persons other than
the owner of such dog, and unaccompanied by the owner or keeper. The
Township Animal Control Officer shall cause any dog so seized and
detained to be properly kept and fed. Where the dog bears a proper
license tag, duly issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or where
the Township Animal Control Officer is able, after a reasonable investigation,
to ascertain the ownership of said dog, he shall cause immediate notice,
either personal or by registered mail, to be given to the owner of
said dog to claim such dog within 10 days. The owner of a dog so detained
shall pay a fee of $10 to Pennsbury Township and all reasonable expenses
incurred by reason of its detention to the detaining parties before
the dog is returned. If, after 10 days from the giving of such notice,
such dog has not been claimed, the Township Animal Control Officer
shall deliver said dog to an agency designated by the Pennsylvania
Secretary of Agriculture for disposition of unclaimed dogs. Any dog
seized and detained by the Township Animal Control Officer which does
not bear a proper license tag, or where the owner of said dog can
not be ascertained by the Township Animal Control Officer, after reasonable
investigation, shall, if unclaimed for a period of five days, be delivered
to an agency designated by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture
for disposition of unclaimed dogs.
This article is not intended to conflict or
interfere with enforcement of any applicable state laws, such as the
Pennsylvania Dog Law of 1965,[1] or amendments thereto, or other municipal ordinances.
Any prosecution for violation of this article shall be in addition
to and separate from any prosecutions for violations of said state
laws or municipal ordinances.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 3 P.S. § 459-101
et seq.
