[Ord. No. 19-1999, § 1, 10-19-1999]
All dogs must be licensed in accordance with the Animal Welfare
Act, 7 M.R.S.A. § 3901 et seq.
[Ord. No. 19-1999, § 2, 10-19-1999]
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any dog, licensed or unlicensed, to run
at large. Disposition of and the procedure for stray dogs shall be
as described in 7 M.R.S.A. § 3911 et seq. The procedure
for stray dogs after receipt by a designated animal shelter shall
be pursuant to 7 M.R.S.A. § 3913.
(b)
All dogs shall be leashed at all times on all property owned by the
City of Belfast with the exception of inside the Dog Park at the Walsh
Field Recreation Area and Sportsman's Park. This includes, but
is not limited to, all City parks, City land, City parking lots, City
streets, roads, sidewalks and shoulders, City range ways and rights-of-way,
City sidewalks and trails, the airport, Public Works facility, Fire
Department, etc. The Police Department K-9 and any other dog used
by law enforcement will be an exception to this requirement. No dogs
shall be allowed in any City cemetery.
[Amended 6-18-2013; 10-15-2019]
(c)
For purposes of this section, the term "at large" means any dog off
leash located on City property as noted above and also all dogs who
are off the premises of the owner or keeper and not under the control
of any person whose presence and attention would reasonably control
the dog.
[Amended 10-15-2019]
[Ord. No. 19-1999, § 2, 10-19-1999]
(a)
After a dog is placed in an animal shelter, the dog may be evaluated
by a licensed veterinarian, and the veterinarian may prescribe vaccinations
and any medical procedures which are necessary to treat any acute
illness or disease. If an animal is claimed by an owner pursuant to
7 M.R.S.A. § 3913, the owner shall be responsible for all
such fees incurred for medical treatment. For each day a claimed animal
stays in the animal shelter, a fee of $15 per day may be charged by
the shelter to any person claiming ownership, along with any and all
other reasonably necessary fees for the care, maintenance and medical
treatment of the animal. Any veterinarian, humane agent, employee
or volunteer or animal shelter, animal control officer or police officer
shall not be civilly liable to any owner or keeper of an animal for
authorizations or acts made in good faith in accordance with state
law and this chapter.
(b)
Before any stray dog is transferred from an animal shelter or any
other person to whom a stray dog has been delivered by an appropriate
authority for the City, such dog shall be vaccinated against rabies
and distemper unless the owner or keeper can provide written evidence
that the dog was vaccinated within the appropriate period as determined
by the state commissioner of human services. The keeper or owner of
each such dog shall pay for all such vaccinations.
[Ord. No. 19-1999, § 5, 10-19-1999]
No person shall maintain or house any dog that creates a public
nuisance by habitually barking, baying, howling or in any other manner
unreasonably disturbing the peace and quiet of any resident of the
City.
[Ord. No. 19-1999, § 4, 10-19-1999]
All dog owners, and any person who keeps or controls an animal
for the owner, shall immediately remove and lawfully dispose of any
feces left by such animal on any property in which the City has a
legal interest or which the City owns, including all sidewalks, private
ways and public ways. This section shall not apply to a dog accompanying
any handicapped person who by reason of his handicap is unable to
comply with the requirements of this section.
