Article 7 Dogs & Dangerous Animals

Section 7.1: Menace or Nuisance

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or harbor, within the Town, any dog or dangerous animal which by howling or fouling of the air or ground, or poses a nuisance to, or in any other manner, disturbs the comfort or quiet of any neighborhood in the Town. For the purpose of this Subsection, a neighborhood shall be considered to have its comfort or quiet disturbed if two or more written complaints are filed with a Town Law Enforcement Official.

B. It shall be unlawful for any owner, possessor, keeper, or harborer of a dog or dangerous animal to permit said animal to be upon public streets, sidewalks, roadways, alleys, or any other person's property within the Town, after notice shall have been given a Town Law Enforcement or Code Enforcement Official that said animal is dangerous, vicious, or a public nuisance as evidenced by having attacked or menaced persons or having destroyed or damaged any public or private property.

C. It shall be unlawful for any owner, possessor, keeper, or harborer of any dog or other animal to permit such animal to foul any public property or another person's private property.

D. All animals must be harbored in sanitary conditions.

E. When walking a dog by owner, possessor, keeper or caretaker it is required that all excrement [by] BE immediately removed from public or private property.29

Section 7.2: Running at Large Prohibited

A. It shall be unlawful for any owner, possessor, keeper or harborer of a dog to permit said dog to be upon public streets, sidewalks, roadways, alleys, or any other person's property within the Town except when under restraint by leash or similar device and conducted by a person competent and able to control said dog.

B. Any dog found at large in any manner other than restrained by leash or similar device or conducted by a person competent and able to control said dog upon public streets, sidewalks, roadways, alleys, or upon the property of any person other than the owner, possessor, keeper, or harborer of said dog, shall be caught, if reasonably possible, and delivered to the Prince George's County Animal Control Shelter.

Section 7.3: Penalty

Any person violating the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of an infraction and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the first offense. Repeat offenders may be assessed a fine not to exceed $200.00 for each repeat offense.