[Adopted 6-4-1962 (Ch. 68, Art. II, of the 1990 Code)]
[Amended 8-8-1990; 11-14-2013]
Pursuant to the authority contained in §§ 15.2-1426
and 15.2-1427 and 3.2-6555, Code of Virginia, as amended, the position
of Animal Control Officer for Carroll County, Virginia, is hereby
created and established, and the licensing and regulation of dogs
within Carroll County, Virginia, is hereby required. The Animal Control
Officer shall discharge the duties and responsibilities of the position
of Animal Warden as set forth in § 3.2-6555 et seq., Code
of Virginia, as amended, and such other duties as may be required
by the Board of Supervisors from time to time.
For the purpose of this article, unless otherwise required by
the context, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
The Animal Control Officer and/or any Deputy Animal Control
Officers appointed under this article and in accordance with § 3.2-6555,
Code of Virginia, as amended.
[Amended 8-8-1990; 11-14-2013]
An enclosure wherein dogs are kept and from which they cannot
escape.
Includes horses, mules, ponies, cattle, sheep, goats, swine
and enclosed domesticated rabbits or hares.
Includes all other persons employed or elected by the people
of Virginia or by any municipality, County or incorporated town thereof
whose duty it is to preserve the peace, to make arrests or to enforce
the law within the jurisdiction of the respective offices to which
elected or in which employed.
Includes any person having a right or property in a dog;
any person who keeps or harbors a dog or has it in his care or who
acts as its custodian; and any person who permits a dog to remain
on or about any premises occupied by him.
Includes all domestic fowl and game birds raised in captivity.
Includes the Treasurer of Carroll County or other officer
designated by law to collect taxes in this County.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own or harbor a dog four months
old or over in Carroll County unless such dog is licensed as required
by the provisions of this article.
B.
Dog license taxes shall be paid for the calendar year, namely, for
January 1 to December 31, inclusive, and the license tax shall be
payable at the office of the County Treasurer as follows:
[Amended 8-10-1976; 10-8-1981; 8-8-1990; 11-14-2013]
[Amended 9-14-1988]
The license tax on dogs shall be due and payable as follows:
A.
On or before January 1 and not later than January 31 of each year, the owner of any dog four months old or older shall pay a license tax as prescribed in § 83-8.
B.
If a dog shall become four months of age or if a dog over four months
of age unlicensed by this County shall come into the possession of
any person residing in this County between January 1 and October 31
of any year, a license tax for the current calendar year shall be
paid by the owner forthwith.
C.
If a dog shall become four months of age or if a dog over four months
of age unlicensed by this County shall come into the possession of
any person in this County between November 1 and December 31 of any
year, the license tax for the succeeding calendar year shall be paid
forthwith by the owner, and such license shall protect the dog from
the date of payment of the license tax to the end of the succeeding
calendar year.
Payment of the license tax subsequent to a summons to appear
before the Judge of the County Court or other court for failure to
have done so within the time permitted by this article shall not operate
to relieve such owner from the penalties provided for violation of
the provisions of this article.
Any dog inspected and found not to be wearing a collar to which
is attached a license tag issued for the current calendar year shall
be considered prima facie an unlicensed dog, and in any proceedings
under this article, the burden of proof of the fact that the dog has
been licensed or is otherwise not required to wear a license tag at
the time shall be upon the owner of the dog.
[Amended 8-10-1976]
Any resident of this County may obtain a dog license by making
oral or written application to the Treasurer of Carroll County, accompanied
by the amount of license tax and certificate of vaccination. No license
or tag shall be issued for any dog unless there is presented to the
Treasurer or other officer of the County evidence satisfactory to
him showing that said dog has been inoculated or vaccinated against
rabies by a currently licensed veterinarian. The Treasurer shall have
the authority to license only dogs of owners or custodians who reside
within the boundary limits of Carroll County and may require information
to establish the location of the residence of any applicant. Upon
the receipt of the proper application, the Treasurer shall issue a
license receipt, on which he shall record the name and address of
the owner or custodian, the amount of the license tax paid, the date
of payment, the year for which issued, the serial number of the tag
and whether male, unsexed female, female or kennel and shall deliver
the metal tags or plates to the applicant forthwith.
A dog license shall consist of a license receipt and a metal
tag in the style and design adopted by the County Board of Supervisors.
The tag shall be stamped or otherwise permanently marked to show the
sex of the dog and the calendar year for which issued and shall bear
a serial number. The license tag for a kennel shall show the number
of dogs authorized to be kept under such license and shall have attached
thereto a metal identification plate for each of such dogs, numbered
to correspond with the serial number of the license tag.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
If a dog license tag shall become lost, destroyed or stolen,
the owner or custodian shall immediately present the original license
receipt to the Treasurer and make application for a duplicate license
tag. Upon application of the owner or custodian to the Treasurer that
the original license tag has been lost, destroyed or stolen, the Treasurer
shall issue a duplicate license tag, which the owner or custodian
shall immediately affix to the collar of the dog. The Treasurer shall
endorse the number of the duplicate tag and the date issued on the
face of the original license receipt. The fee for the issuance of
the duplicate tag shall be $1.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
A dog license receipt shall be carefully preserved by the owner
or custodian of the dog and exhibited promptly on request for inspection
by any Animal Control Officer or other law enforcement officer. A
dog license tag shall be securely fastened to a substantial collar
by the owner or custodian and worn by such dog at all times. It shall
be unlawful for the owner to permit any licensed dog four months old
or over to run or roam at large at any time without a license tag,
except that the collar and license tag may be removed temporarily
when engaged in lawful hunting in open season and when accompanied
by the owner or custodian.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
The owner of a kennel shall securely fasten the license tag
to the kennel enclosure in full view and keep one of the identification
plates provided therewith attached to the collar of each dog authorized
to be kept enclosed in the kennel. Any identification plates not so
in use must be kept by the owner or custodian and promptly shown to
any Animal Control Officer or other law enforcement officer upon request.
A kennel dog shall not be permitted to stray beyond the limits of
the kennel enclosure, but this restriction shall not operate to prohibit
dogs being temporarily removed from the kennel while under the control
of the owner or custodian to exercise, hunt, breed, show or to engage
in field trials. A kennel shall not be operated in any manner to defraud
the County of the license tax payable on dogs which cannot be legally
considered as kennel dogs or in any manner to violate other provisions
of this article.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
All dogs in this County which are licensed and all dogs under
four months of age shall be deemed to be personal property and may
be the subject of larceny and malicious or unlawful trespass, and
the owners thereof may maintain any action for the killing of any
such dogs, for injury thereto, for unlawful detention or for use thereof
as in the case of other personal property. It shall be unlawful for
any person except the owner or his authorized agent to administer
poison to any such dog, to expose poison where it may be taken by
any such dog or to injure, disfigure, disable or kill any dog except
as otherwise provided in this article. The owner of any dog on which
the current license tax has been paid or any dog under four months
of age which is injured or killed contrary to the provisions of this
article or any other law shall be entitled to recover the value thereof
or the damage done thereto in an appropriate action at law. An Animal
Control Officer or other law enforcement officer finding a stolen
dog or a dog held or detained contrary to law shall have authority
to seize and hold such dog pending action before the County Court
or other court. If no such action is instituted within seven days,
the Animal Control Officer or other officer shall deliver the dog
to its owner. The presence of a dog on the premises of a person other
than its legal owner shall raise no presumption of theft against the
owner or occupant of such premises, but it shall be his duty to notify
the Animal Control Officer immediately, and the Animal Control Officer
shall take such dog in charge and notify its legal owner to remove
the dog. The legal owner of the dog shall pay a reasonable charge
for the keep of such dog while in the possession of the Animal Control
Officer.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
It shall be the duty of any Animal Control Officer who may find
a dog in the act of killing, injuring, worrying or chasing sheep or
killing or injuring other livestock to kill such dog forthwith, whether
such dog is wearing a tag or not, or any person finding a dog committing
any of the aforementioned acts and depredations set forth shall have
the right to kill such dog on sight. The County Court or any other
court shall have the power to order the Animal Control Officer or
other law enforcement officer to kill any dog known to be a confirmed
poultry killer. Any dog observed killing fowl for the third time shall
be considered a confirmed poultry killer. Any Animal Control Officer
or other person who has reason to believe that any dog is killing
livestock or committing any of the aforementioned acts and depredations
set forth in this section shall apply to a Justice of the Peace of
the County, who shall issue a warrant requiring the owner or custodian,
if known, to appear before the Judge of the County Court at the time
and place named therein, at which time evidence shall be heard, and
if it shall appear that such dog is a livestock killer or has committed
any of the aforementioned acts and depredations set forth in this
section, the dog shall be ordered to be killed immediately by the
Animal Control Officer or other officer designated by the Judge of
the County Court.
[Amended 8-8-1990]
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to take in
charge any dog found running at large on which the license tax has
not been paid.
A.
If the dog is of unknown ownership, it shall be held for a period
of five days, during which time the Animal Control Officer shall attempt
to establish the ownership of such dog. If after five days the ownership
has not been established nor the dog claimed and license tax paid,
the Animal Control Officer shall kill such dog, provided that the
Animal Control Officer may deliver such dog to any person in this
County who will pay the required license tax on such dog. Should the
legal owner thereafter claim the dog and prove his ownership, he may
recover such dog by paying to the person to whom the dog was delivered
by the Animal Control Officer the amount of the license tax paid by
him and reasonable charges for the keeping of the dog while in his
possession.
B.
If ownership of an unlicensed dog is known, the identified animal shall be held for five days more than the holding period prescribed in Subsection A above.
C.
Any person, Animal Control Officer or other law enforcement officer
killing a dog under this section shall bury, cremate or sanitarily
dispose of the same.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 68-20, Disposal of dead
dogs, of the 1990 Code, as amended, which immediately followed this
section, was repealed 11-14-2013.
The following acts shall be deemed misdemeanors and enforced
by proceedings before a Judge of the County Court:
A.
Diseased dog: for the owner of any dog with a known contagious or
infectious disease to permit such dog to stray from his premises.
B.
Female dog in season: for the owner of any female dog to permit such
dog to stray from his premises while such dog is known to be in season.
C.
Removing collar and tag: for any person, except the owner or custodian,
to remove a legally acquired license tag from a dog.
D.
Concealing a dog: for any person to conceal or harbor any dog on
which the license tax has not been paid or to conceal a mad dog to
keep the dog from being killed.
A.
Enumeration of penalties.
[Amended 8-8-1990; 11-14-2013]
(1)
Any person who shall make a false statement in order to secure a
license to which he is not entitled shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(2)
Any person convicted of failure to pay the license tax prior to February
1 of any year, or as otherwise provided in this article, on any dog
owned by him shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. In addition,
the court may order confiscation and the proper disposition of the
dog.
(3)
Any other violations of this article for which a specific penalty
is not provided shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B.
All fines collected from any person for violating any provision of
this article, upon conviction thereof, shall be credited to the general
fund of the County and deposited by the County Treasurer in the same
manner as that prescribed for any other County moneys.
