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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 1976-02-06 BUYOUCOS & BARNEY ATTORNEYS AT LAW SAVINGS BANK BUILDING JAMES V. BUYOUCOS ITHACA* NEW YORK 14850 AREA CODE 607 JOHN C. BARNEY PHONE 279.6841 MEMORANDUM J TO : Catherine A . Valentino FROM : James V . Buyoucos RE : Town Dog Control Law DATE : February 6 , 1976 At our last conference I discussed with you my . interpretation of Section 114 and 114-:a of the Dog Control Law and the effects of a leash law and other matters re- lating to the adoption of effective town legislation ' con- trolling dogs . I have confirmed the statements I made to you with an attorney for the Department of Agriculture and Markets . 1 . Section 114 applies if a Town has no leash law . Under this section if a dog is running loose in the Town the law directs a peace " officer or designated representative of the Commissioner to seize any unlicensed dog either on or off the owner ' s premises and also to seize any dog found at large not wearing the tag required by law . This is not permissive . and it is not a mere authorization . It is an imperative . 2 . Every dog seized by a peace officer as aforesaid must be properly fed and cared for at the expense of the municipality . I asked the Agriculture and Markets Department to tell me which municipality would bear the expense . They informed me it would be the municpality in which the dog was found and not the municpality im which the dog ' s owner resides . 3 . If a municipality has adopted a leash law under Section 114-a , similar provisions apply . However , the only difference is that a Town dog warden has no responsibility for enforcing the law im a Village within the Town . In addition , i - if a Village has no leash law but a Town does have a leash law , then a Village dog warden is under no responsibility to enforce the leash law . However , the section clearly states that any police officer , whether or not there is a leash law , must pick up unlicensed dogs , untagged dogs and so forth . 4 . Assuming that the Town had . a leash law but had no facilities for keeping , dogs , the dog warden could bring the dog either to a veterinarian or to a kennel or to an SPCA where it would be boarded ,. If the dog warden paid the expense of boarding then the dog warden would be reimbursed by the municipality in which the dog was found . 5 . The ' authority for entering into contracts is 'found in sections 120 and 120- a of the Agriculture and Markets Law . 6 . As I discussed it with you here are the . Town ' s options : a . The Town can adopt no law . In that case any unlicensed dog either on or off the owner ' s - premises or any dog found at large not wearing the required tag must be seized by a peace officer . I interpret this to mean that anyone residing - in the Town of = Ithaca could -"call the Sheriff ' s office and- - - - ask them to pick up any such dog . The care of keeping such dog must be charged to the Town of Ithaca ( unjust , , perhaps , but the law says so ) . . b . The Town can adopt a law controlling " nuisance act ivit ies -of dogs am unreasonable barking , attacking persons and bicycles , etc . Appropriate penalties would , be provided . c . The Town could include in the law described in the preceding '' subparagraph a provisionthat all dogs must be kept on , leashes- --and provide for penalties and - -- -_ fines against the . owners who let their dogs run at large without a leash . If any such dogs are caught , of course , section 114-a provides that any such . dog �5 aaapa� be seized by any peace officer and kept at the expense of the Town . This is a law mandated by the State . The extra burden it adds to the - Town . is that while Section 114 requires any dog seized unlicensed or untagged in the Town of Ithaca to be irept at the Town ' s expense, the adoption of the leash law would mean additional pickups because of unleashed dogs . ' * or the warden could keep the dog in his house or garage . - 3 - d . The provision with respect to unleashed dogs in the preceding subparagraph would not make it mandatory that a Town dog ' warden be appointed who would seize any such dogs . The final alternative is to adopt the present law as it is written which places some affirmative respon- sibility on the Town to either appoint a warden or enter into a contract to enforce the provisions of the law . You are already aware of the attitude of the Supervisor and the Town Board with respect to this proposal , i b