[Adopted 1-11-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any dog which is both:
Includes cats, dogs and any animal listed in § 108
of the State Agriculture and Markets Law.
Any person owning, keeping, harboring or controlling a dog
within the Town of Blooming Grove, and the parent, guardian or other
adult person with whom a minor owner resides, including persons temporarily
in possession of a dog at the owner's request.
All public and private areas within the jurisdiction of the
Town of Blooming Grove, outside the Village of Washingtonville.
Includes:
Any dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or domestic animals, as determined pursuant to § 77-12 herein; or
Any dog which attacks a human being or domestic animal, including dogs and cats without provocation, as determined pursuant to § 77-12 herein; or
Any dog owned or harbored primarily or in part for the purpose of dog fighting or any dog trained for dog fighting, as determined pursuant to § 77-12 herein.
No dog shall be automatically deemed vicious if it bites, attacks or menaces a trespasser an the property of its owner or harms or menaces anyone who has tormented or abused it, as determined pursuant to § 77-12 herein.
The owner of any dog which bites any person
while such person is on or in a public place or lawfully on or in
a private place, including the property of the owner of such dog,
shall be liable for damages suffered by the person bitten regardless
of the known or former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge
of such viciousness. A person is lawfully upon private property within
the meaning of this article when he is on such property in the performance
of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this state or by the laws
of Postal Regulations of the United States, or when he is on such
property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner thereof;
provided, however, that no owner of any dog shall be liable for any
damages to any person or his property when such person shall mischievously
or carelessly provoke or aggravate the dog inflicting such damage.
It shall be an affirmative defense against liability if, at the time
of any such injury, he has displayed in a prominent place on his premises
a sign easily readable including the words "Bad Dog" or words to that
effect.
A.
No person owning or harboring or having the care or
custody of a vicious dog shall suffer or permit such dog to go at
large or be unconfined on the premises of such person. A vicious dog
is unconfined, as that term is used in this section, if such dog is
not securely confined indoors or in a vehicle or in a securely enclosed
and locked covered pen or dog run upon the premises of the owner.
Such pen or structure shall have secure sides and a secure top and
shall also provide protection from the elements for the dog.
B.
No person owning, harboring or having the care of
the vicious dog shall suffer or permit such dog to go beyond the premises
of such person or in public, unless such dog is securely muzzled and
restrained with a chain having a minimum tensile strength of 300 pounds
and not exceeding six feet in length.
C.
No person shall own or harbor any dog for the purpose
of causing or encouraging said dog to unprovoked attacks upon human
beings, and no person shall possess with intent to sell, or offer
for sale, or breed or buy or attempt to buy within the town any vicious
dog.
D.
The owner of any vicious dog shall register such dog
with the Town Clerk no later than 10 days after the effective date
of determination that dog is vicious. The owner of a vicious dog shall
produce proof within 30 days after determination that said dog is
vicious that he has obtained liability insurance in the amount of
at least $100,000 covering any damage or injury which may be caused
by the dog. Such proof shall then be presented each 12 months thereafter.
E.
All premises in which a vicious dog is kept shall
be posted with a sign or notice, printed in clear and legible type,
warning the public of the presence of such dog, and said sign shall
be conspicuously displayed.
In the event that a law enforcement agent of
the town has probable cause to believe that a vicious dog is being
harbored or cared for in violation of this article, the town may petition
a court of competent jurisdiction to order the seizure and impounding
of the vicious dog, and in the event that a law enforcement agent
has probable cause to believe that a vicious dog is running at large,
then the agent may seize and impound the dog without seeking prior
court order.
Whoever violates any provision of § 77-9 above shall be guilty of an offense and shall be fined up to a maximum of $1,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding 30 days, and any person so found guilty shall also pay any and all expenses, including shelter, food, veterinarian expenses for identification or certification or boarding and veterinarian expenses associated by the seizure of the vicious dog for the protection of the public and any other expenses as may be required for the destruction of any such dog. Any vicious dog which has bitten or attacked a human being shall be destroyed if such vicious dog represents a continuing threat of serious harm to human beings. It shall also be an offense subject to the penalties described above for any person to own or harbor or train any dog for purposes of dog fighting or encouraging said dog to unprovoked attacks upon human beings.
A determination of viciousness shall be made
substantially in accordance with the procedures of the State Agriculture
and Markets Law.
