[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Palmer as indicated in article
histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-31-1981 STM
by Art. 8 (Ch. 79, Art. I, of the 2007 Code)]
No person owning or keeping a dog in the Town shall permit such
dog to be at large in the Town elsewhere than on the premises of the
owner or keeper, except if it be on the premises of another person
with the knowledge and permission of such other person. Such owner
or keeper of a dog in the Town which is not on the premises of the
owner or upon the premises of another person with the knowledge and
permission of such person shall restrain such dog by a chain or leash
not exceeding six feet in length.
In any prosecution hereunder, the presence of such dog at large
upon premises other than the premises of the owner or keeper of such
dog when such dog is not restrained as above mentioned shall be prima
facie evidence that such knowledge and permission was not had.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any dog found to be at large in violation of this article shall
be caught and confined by the Animal Control Officer and/or his assistants,
who shall notify forthwith the licensed owner or keeper of such dog,
giving the owner or keeper a period of seven days within which to
recover the dog. Dogs confined under the authority of this order shall
be confined in a place suitable for the care and detention of dogs
or they may be placed in the care of the holder of a kennel license,
such place or holder of a kennel license to be designated by the Town
Manager. At the end of the seven-day period, any dog not so claimed
may be disposed of in the manner provided by law. The owner or keeper
of such dog shall be required to pay the reasonable expenses of maintaining
such dog in confinement, including but not limited to costs of feeding,
medical care, medicines and the like. Return of the dog to the licensed
owner or keeper shall be dependent upon admission of ownership or
the keeping of the dog and the assumption of responsibility by the
licensed owner or keeper.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The Animal Control Officer shall enter and prosecute a complaint
against the owner or keeper of any dog taken into his custody under
this article, provided that if within the 12 months next preceding
this offense the owner or keeper has not been convicted for violation
of this article or a dog owned or kept by him has not been taken into
custody for violation of this article, the Animal Control Officer
may waive prosecution.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
The Town Manager or his/her designee may designate times and
places on Town property where dogs may be exercised or trained off
the leash but under the control or supervision of their masters.
No dog owned or kept in the Town shall be allowed on any school
playgrounds between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on any day
that public schools are in session or in the vicinity of any public
wading pool while said public wading pool is in use.
A.
Any person may make a complaint in writing to the police that any
dog owned or harbored within the Town is a nuisance or dangerous dog
as defined in MGL c. 140, § 136A. The police shall take
action as provided in MGL c. 140, § 157, and any amendments
thereto. Such other disturbances causing a nuisance shall include
but not be limited to the following:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Said written complaint to the police shall include the name and address
of the owner or keeper of said dog.
A.
Criminal complaint. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this
article may be penalized by indictment or on complaint brought in
the District Court. Except as may otherwise be provided by law, and
as the District Court may see fit to impose, the maximum penalty for
any violation of these provisions shall be $300 for each offense.
Each day on which a violation exists shall be deemed to be a separate
offense; or
B.
Noncriminal disposition. Whoever violates any provision of this article
may be penalized by noncriminal disposition as provided in MGL c.
40, § 21D and may be punished by a noncriminal fine of $25
for the first offense, $35 for the second offense, and $50 for the
third and subsequent offenses. Each day a violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
[Added 5-20-1996 ATM
by Art. 40]
B.
Disposition of funds. The sums collected pursuant to the provisions
of this section shall be accounted for and paid to the Town Treasurer;
however, the Animal Control Officer shall be entitled to all fees
paid for the care of impounded dogs by the owners thereof.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
These fees can be changed by the Town Manager, with the approval
of the Town Council at any regularly scheduled Town Council meeting.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
[Added STM 11-18-1996 by Art. 22]
Standards that apply to kennels are as follows:
A.
Minimum lot area shall be two acres.
B.
All animal boarding buildings that are not wholly enclosed and any
outdoor animal pens, stalls or runways shall be located within the
rear yard.
C.
All animal boarding buildings that are not wholly enclosed and any
outdoor animal pens, stalls or runways shall be a minimum of 100 feet
away from all property lines.
D.
All outdoor running areas shall be enclosed to prevent the escape
of the animals; all such enclosures shall be a minimum of 10 feet
from all property lines.
E.
All animal wastes shall be regularly cleaned up and properly disposed
of.
F.
The applicant shall demonstrate a working plan to prevent or alleviate
any noise problems emanating from animals boarded on the site.
[Added STM 11-18-1996 by Art. 23]
A.
Whoever suffers loss by the maiming or killing of his livestock or
fowl by a licensed or unlicensed dog or dogs, outside the premises
of the owner or keeper of such dog or dogs, may inform the Town Manager
or his/her designee, who shall proceed to the premises where the damage
was done and determine whether the same was inflicted by dogs and,
if so, appraise the amount thereof if it does not exceed $50. If in
the opinion of the Town Manager or his/her designee the amount of
said damage exceeds $50, the damage shall be appraised, on oath, by
three persons acting as appraisers. The appraisers shall be comprised
of the Town Manager, the Chief of Police or his designee and a person
designated by the person alleged to be damaged.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
B.
Said appraisers shall determine, if possible, the owner of the licensed
or unlicensed dog or dogs and present said dog owner, by certified
mail, with such evidence and a certificate of damage, to include the
labor and time necessarily expended in the finding and collecting
of the livestock or fowl injured or separated and the value of the
lost or otherwise damaged livestock or fowl. Awards shall in no case
exceed the fair cash market value of such livestock or fowl. Said
dog owner shall pay the aggrieved person for the damages within 30
days of the receipt of the certificate of damage. The aggrieved person
shall have the right to take District Court action if said dog owner
fails to comply with the required payment. If the appraisers cannot
determine the owner of the licensed or unlicensed dog or dogs, the
Town Manager shall approve warrant for payment to the aggrieved person
from the dog control account.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
C.
No owner of livestock or fowl shall be reimbursed for damages inflicted
by his own dog or dogs, nor shall such owner be reimbursed for any
damage by any dog or dogs, if at the time such damage was inflicted
he was himself the owner or keeper of an unlicensed dog of the age
of six months or older. No reimbursement shall be made on account
of damage inflicted by a dog or dogs to a deer, elk, cottontail rabbit,
northern hare, pheasant, quail, partridge or other livestock or fowl
determined by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to be wild, unless
they are kept by a permit issued by said Department. No reimbursement
shall be made for damage inflicted by a dog or dogs to dogs, cats
or other household pets.
[Adopted 11-22-1999 STM
by Art. 10 (Ch. 79, Art. II, of the 2007 Code)]
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
It shall be the duty and responsibility of each person who owns,
possesses or controls a dog to remove and dispose of any feces left
by his/her dog on any sidewalk, street or other public area or private
area not owned by the person who owns, possesses or controls a dog.
No person who owns, possesses or controls a dog shall appear
with such dog on any sidewalk, street or other public area without
means of removal of any feces left by such dog.
For the purpose of this article, the means of removal shall
be by any tool, implement, container or other device carried for the
purpose of picking up and containing such feces, unexposed to said
person or the public. Disposal shall be accomplished by transporting
such feces to a place suitable for disposal of feces.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A complaint form signed under the pains and penalties of perjury
must be filed at the office of the Town Manager before any enforcement
action can be taken, except when the Animal Control Officer observes
the offense.
This article shall not apply to a dog accompanying any handicapped
person who, by reason of his/her handicap, is physically unable to
comply with the requirements of this article.
A.
Criminal complaint. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this
article may be penalized by indictment or on complaint brought in
the District Court. Except as may otherwise be provided by law, and
as the District Court may see fit to impose, the maximum penalty for
any violation of these provisions shall be $300 for each offense.
Each day on which a violation exists shall be deemed to be a separate
offense; or
B.
Noncriminal disposition. Whoever violates any provision of this article
may be penalized by noncriminal disposition as provided in MGL c.
40, § 21D and may be punished by a noncriminal fine of $25
for the first offense, $35 for the second offense, and $50 for the
third and subsequent offenses. Each day a violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The enforcing persons shall be the Animal Control Officer of
the Town or the Town Manager or his/her designee.
[Amended 7-11-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-12]
Any person who is the subject of a complaint by a private citizen
may seek a hearing before a hearing officer designated by the Town
Manager by filing a request for a hearing with the Office of the Town
Manager within seven days after such person's receipt of notice of
violation. The filing of the request for hearing shall automatically
stay further proceedings under MGL c. 40, § 21D until such
person receives notice of the hearing officer's decision.
