[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Merrimac as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Art. XII, Sec. 12.11 and 12.12, of the 2016 General Bylaws]
A. 
The Select Board shall annually appoint an Animal Control Officer, who shall be responsible for the enforcement of this bylaw and the General Laws relating to the regulation of animals. The Animal Control Officer shall attend to all complaints and any other matters pertaining to dogs and shall take whatever action deemed necessary.
B. 
For purposes of this bylaw and MGL c. 140, § 157, the Select Board shall be the hearing authority.
[Amended 4-27-2009 ATM]
A. 
The provisions of MGL c. 140 applicable to animal licensing and tagging are hereby incorporated herein. All dogs six months old or over 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. All fines and license fees are established by the Select Board and on record with the Town Clerk. All monies collected for licenses (minus the $0.75 Town Clerk fee), and fines will be retained by the Town.
B. 
No dog collected under the provisions of this bylaw or the provisions of MGL c. 140, as amended, shall be released unless it has been licensed as required by this chapter.
C. 
The owner or keeper of a dog found in violation of this bylaw or the provisions of MGL c. 140, as amended, which has been impounded shall pay fees equal to the expenses incurred by the Town for the collection, initial handling, and daily care (if applicable) of such dogs. These fees shall be established by the Select Board in accordance with MGL c. 140, as amended.
D. 
No dog may be allowed to run free in public parks, schoolyards, or recreation areas, except in dog parks designated by the Select Board.
E. 
No owner or keeper of any dog shall permit the same to commit a nuisance by barking, biting, howling, or otherwise disturbing the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or endangering the safety of any person.
F. 
No person shall own or keep in the Town of Merrimac, outside the confines of the owner's or keeper's property, any dog which is not held firmly on a leash or under the immediate control of such owner or keeper, excluding dogs that are used in police work and/or dogs that are being used for hunting purposes during the hunting season.
G. 
Any person owning or having custody of an animal shall immediately remove that animal's waste from any public property or private property other than that of the animal's owner.
H. 
No owner or person having charge of any horse, cow, swine, sheep, goat, or other grazing animal shall permit the same to pasture in any street, sidewalk or way within the Town, either with or without a keeper, provided that this subsection shall not affect the rights of any person to use land within the limits of such way adjoining his own premises.
I. 
Any person may make a written complaint to the Select Board that any dog owned or kept within the Town is a Nuisance dog or a dangerous dog, as those terms are defined in MGL c. 140, § 157. The Select Board shall investigate or cause to be investigated such complaint, including an examination under oath of the complainant at a public hearing in the municipality to determine whether the dog is a nuisance dog or a dangerous dog, and shall make such order concerning the restraint or disposal of such dog as provided in MGL c. 140, § 157. Violations of such orders shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of MGL c. 140, §§ 157 and 157A, which, upon conviction, may include, for a first offense, a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 60 days in a jail or house of correction, or both; and for a second or subsequent offense by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days in a jail or house of correction.
J. 
In accordance with MGL c. 140, § 173A, and MGL c. 40, § 21D, noncriminal disposition fines may be used to enforce this bylaw. The Animal Control Officer, any police officer or any other person so appointed by the Select Board may issue notices of violation of this bylaw. The fines for such violations, per dog, shall be as follows:
(1) 
First offense in calendar year: written warning, no fine.
(2) 
Second offense in calendar year: $50.
(3) 
Third offense in calendar year: $60.
(4) 
Subsequent offenses in calendar year: $100.
(5) 
(Each 24 hour period shall constitute a separate offense).