Southwick, Massachusetts

§ 69-4 Licensing fees.

The following is a list of licensing fees for dogs to be licensed in the Town of Southwick:

§ 69-7 Kennel licenses.

Any person or business maintained for the boarding or breeding or day care or in-residence training of dogs shall obtain a kennel license. Any owner or keeper of five up to and including nine dogs three months of age or older, being maintained at a premises, shall secure a residential kennel license. The Town Clerk or Animal Control Officer shall not issue a residential kennel license unless the owner or keeper provides the Town Clerk or Animal Control Officer with a veterinarian’s certificate verifying that each dog three months of age or older is currently vaccinated against rabies.

Any owner or keeper of 10 or more dogs, three months of age or older, or of a premises maintained for the boarding or breeding or day care or in-residence training of dogs, shall obtain a commercial kennel license.

Issuance of a residential or commercial kennel license shall be contingent upon inspection and approval by the Animal Control Officer to ensure that basic standards of cleanliness and proper care and confinement of said dogs exist on the premises.

Such license shall be in a form prescribed by the Town Clerk. Such license shall be in lieu of any other license for any dog while kept at such kennel during any portion of the period for which such kennel license is issued. The holder of a license for a kennel shall cause each dog kept therein to wear a collar or harness of leather or other suitable material, to which shall be securely attached a tag upon which shall appear the number of such kennel license, the year of issue and the inscription “SOUTHWICK.”

The fee for each license for a kennel shall be $50 for a residential kennel license and $150 for a commercial kennel license.

The name and address of the owner of each dog kept in any kennel, if other than the person maintaining the kennel, and a veterinarian’s certificate verifying that each dog three months of age or older is currently vaccinated against rabies, shall be kept on file thereat and available for inspection by the Animal Control Officer or any authorized person.

The Town Clerk or Animal Control Officer shall, upon application, issue without charge a kennel license to any domestic charitable corporation, incorporated exclusively for the purpose of protecting animals from cruelty, neglect or abuse, and for the relief of suffering among animals. A veterinary hospital shall not be considered a kennel unless it contains an area for the selling, breeding or boarding of dogs for other than medical purposes, in which case it shall apply for a kennel license.

The license period for a kennel license shall be from April 1st to March 31st, inclusive.

For purposes of these bylaws, any business which is currently and legally operating prior to the adoption of these bylaws which would be considered a residential kennel or commercial kennel as defined herein shall not be considered an illegal use or in violation of the Town Zoning Code § 185-11 which requires a commercial kennel to be located within the Agriculture and Conservation District AC Zone. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any business which is legally and currently operating which would be considered a residential kennel or commercial kennel as defined herein shall be required to adhere to all the provisions pertinent to the operation of a residential or commercial kennel as set forth in these bylaws.

Any person who violates the provisions of § 69-7, shall receive a written warning for the first offense, and for each subsequent offense shall be liable for payment of a fine of $50 for each day in violation of this section, which shall be paid to the Town of Southwick General Fund.

§ 69-8 Kennel inspection and regulation.

The Animal Control Officer or any agent authorized by the Town of Southwick may, at any time during normal business hours, inspect or cause to be inspected any kennel or property holding a kennel license, residential or commercial.

If, in the judgment of the Animal Control Officer or any agent authorized by the Town of Southwick, after inspection, determines in their judgment, the kennel is not being maintained in a sanitary and humane manner, or if records are not properly kept as required by law, the Selectmen may, by order, revoke or suspend, and in case of suspension may reinstate, such license.

Upon written complaint from the Animal Control Officer or a Southwick resident, filed with the Selectmen, setting forth that they are aggrieved, annoyed to an unreasonable extent, by one or more dogs at the kennel, because of the excessive barking or vicious disposition of said dogs or other conditions connected with such kennel constituting a public nuisance, the Selectmen, within seven days after the filing of such petition, shall give notice to all parties in interest of a public hearing to be held within 14 days after the date of such notice.

Within seven days after such public hearing said Board of Selectmen shall make an order either revoking or suspending such kennel license or otherwise regulating said kennel, or dismissing said petition.

The holder of such license aggrieved by any decision rendered by the Board of Selectmen may appeal such decision in accordance with M.G.L. c. 140, § 137C.

Any person maintaining a kennel after the license has been so revoked, or while such license is so suspended, may be punished by a fine of $50, which shall be paid to the Town of Southwick General Fund, for each day in violation of said revocation or suspension.