[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Groton as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 200.
[Adopted 4-26-1926 as Secs. 9 and 10 of Ch. II of the 1926
Code of Ordinances; amended in its entirety 12-10-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990]
No person shall suffer cattle, horses, goats,
sheep, swine or poultry to be at large within the Village of Groton,
nor shall any person drive or permit or cause to be driven through
the streets of the Village of Groton cattle, horses, goats, sheep,
swine or poultry.
No person shall keep or maintain any animals
or fowl within the Village of Groton unless the places where the same
are kept shall at all times be in a sanitary condition and free from
offensive odors and unless such activity is otherwise permitted by
the Village Zoning Law[1] or other applicable state or local law.
[Adopted 9-19-1977 by L.L. No. 6-1977;
amended in its entirety 7-21-2008 by L.L. No. 1-2008]
The purpose of this article is to promote the
public health, safety and welfare of the Village of Groton, including
the protection and preservation of property within the Village and
its inhabitants and of the peace and good order therein, by regulating
and controlling the activities of dogs within the Village of Groton
and providing for the enforcement thereof.
This article is adopted pursuant to Article
7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York.
The title of this article shall be "Dog Control
Law of the Village of Groton." Section
As used in this article, the following words
shall have the following respective meanings:
The Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York
in effect as of the effective date of this article, as amended by
this article and as amended thereafter.
Male and female, licensed and unlicensed, members of the
species Canis familiaris.
Any person or persons who is lawfully authorized by the Village
pursuant to § 114 of the Agriculture and Markets Law to
perform the duties and exercise the powers of a Dog Control Officer.
To provide food or shelter to any dog.
The party purchasing the license, unless the dog is or has
been lost, and such loss has been reported to the proper authorities
and a reasonable search has been made. If a dog is not licensed, the
term "owner" shall designate and cover any person or persons, firm,
association or corporation who or which at any time owns or has custody
or control of, harbors or is otherwise responsible for any animal
which is kept, brought or comes within the Village. Any person owning
or harboring a dog for a period of one week prior to the filing of
any complaint charging a violation of this article shall be held and
deemed to be the owner of such dog for the purpose of this article.
In the event any dog found to be in violation if this article shall
be owned by a minor (under 18 years of age), the head of the household
in which said minor resides shall be deemed to have custody and control
of said dog and shall be responsible for any acts of said dog and
violation of this article.
The area within the corporate limits of the Village of Groton.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dog in the
Village to permit or allow such dog to:
(1)Â
Not be restrained by an adequate collar and leash,
unless it is accompanied by its owner or a responsible person able
to control it by command, when not on the property of the owner.
(2)Â
Engage in habitual loud howling, barking, crying or
whining or conduct itself in such a manner so as to unreasonably and
habitually annoy and/or disturb any person other than the owner of
such dog.
(3)Â
Cause damage or destruction to property or defecate,
urinate or dig or otherwise commit a nuisance other than on the property
of the owner of such dog.
(4)Â
Chase, jump upon or at or otherwise harass any person
in such a manner as to reasonably cause intimidation or fear or to
put such person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or injury.
(5)Â
Chase, run alongside of, bark at or otherwise harass
any motor vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, carriage or any other vehicle
or device used by persons for travel, or any riders or occupants thereof,
while said vehicle or device is on a public highway or private property
other than property of the owner of said dog. For purposes of this
section, a horse or other animal shall be considered a vehicle or
device.
(6)Â
Not wear a valid and current New York State dog license
while off of the property of the owner of said dog, whether or not
restrained by an adequate collar or leash.
Any person or persons who are lawfully authorized
by the Village pursuant to Section 114 of the Agriculture and Markets
Law to perform the duties and exercise the powers of a Dog Control
Officer shall, and all peace officers may, administer and enforce
the provisions of this article and for such purpose shall have the
authority to issue appearance tickets.
A.Â
Any dog found in violation of any of the provisions of § 87-8 of this article may be seized pursuant to the provisions of § 118 of the Agriculture and Markets Law.
B.Â
Every dog seized shall be properly cared for, sheltered,
fed and watered for the redemption periods set forth in § 118
of the Agriculture and Markets Law.
C.Â
Seized dogs may be redeemed by producing proof of
licensing and identification pursuant to the provisions of Article
7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law and by paying an impoundment
fee of $20.
D.Â
If the owner of any unredeemed dog is known, such owner shall be required to pay the impoundment fees set forth in Subsection C of this section, whether or not such owner chooses to redeem his/her dog.
E.Â
Any dog unredeemed at the expiration of the appropriate
redemption period shall be made available for adoption or euthanized
pursuant to the provision of Section 118 of the Agriculture and Markets
Law.
F.Â
No action shall be maintained against the Village
or any person or persons lawfully authorized by the Village when performing
duties pursuant to this article to recover the possession or value
of any dog or for damages for injury or compensation for the destruction
of any dog seized or destroyed pursuant to the provisions of this
article or the Agriculture and Markets Law.
A.Â
Any Village-designated Dog Control Officer, or agency
lawfully authorized by the Village pursuant to § 114 of
the Agriculture and Markets Law to perform the duties and exercise
the powers of a Dog Control Officer, or agent thereof, having reasonable
cause to believe that a violation of this article has been committed
in his/her presence shall issue and serve upon such person an appearance
ticket for such violation.
B.Â
Any person who observes a dog in violation of this
article may file a complaint, under oath, with a Village-designated
Dog Control Officer or Agency, specifying the nature of the violation,
the date thereof, a description of the dog, the location of the violation
and the name and residence, if known, of the owner of such dog. Such
complaint may serve as the basis for enforcing the provisions of this
article.
C.Â
Upon receipt by the Village-designated Dog Control
Officer or agency of any such complaint, that officer or agency shall
issue an appearance ticket to the alleged owner of the dog to appear
before the Groton Town Court at a date and time specified.
A.Â
Pursuant to the Agriculture and Markets Law and this article, all dogs in the Village must be licensed with the Town Clerk of the Town of Groton once the dog is four months old, and said license must be renewed annually thereafter. A violation of this provision shall be an offense, punishable upon conviction thereof, as provided in § 87-14 of this article. The license fees shall be payable to the Town Clerk of the Town of Groton in accordance with the fee schedule set for dog licenses by the Town of Groton.
B.Â
In addition, pursuant to the Agriculture and Markets
Law and this article, an additional fee of $5 shall be collected for
dogs identified as unlicensed during a dog enumeration. This fee is
to be collected by the Town Clerk of the Town of Groton at the time
of licensing and is in addition to the statutory and local licensing
fee and any animal population control fee. This fee need not be reported
to the State of New York by the Town, but must be used for dog control
in the municipality.
No person shall hinder, resist or oppose the
Dog Control Officer, peace officer or other person or agency authorized
to administer or enforce the provisions of this article of the Code
of the Village of Groton in the performance of his or her duties under
this article.
A plea or conviction of a violation of this
article shall be deemed an offense and punishable by a fine not exceeding
$25 for a first offense, not exceeding $50 for a second offense and
not exceeding $75 for a third and all subsequent violations. These
penalties shall be in addition to any other penalty provided by law.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause,
phrase or provision of this article shall be judged invalid or held
unconstitutional, it shall not affect the validity of the Local Law
as a whole or any part or provision thereof other than the part so
decided to be invalid or unconstitutional.
