Chap. 740.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 8, 5 and 6
of an act for the protection of sheep in the counties of Clarke,
Frederick and Charlotte, approved March 6, 1874, as to the
county of Frederick.

Approved March 4, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That sections three, five and six of chapter eighty-one of
the acts of eighteen hundred and seventy-four, so far as
said act applies to the county of Frederick, be amended
and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

§ 3. Upon complaint of any person to a justice of the
peace that there is a dog staying about the premises of any
person that is not listed, the justice shall summon such
person and the commissioner of the revenue for the district,
to appear before him and give evidence as to the listing of
such dog, and he shall hear and decide the case, and if the
complaint be found to be true and the person so charged
shall fail to pay the tax thereon, and the costs hereby in-
curred, he shall be fined the sum of one dollar and costs;
and in addition the justice shall order the constable to
kill said dog. The fees allowed under this section shall
be those now allowed by law, and the constable shall re-
ceive the fine imposed as his fee for killing the dog. The
treasurer of the county shall annually make out and pre-
eent at the June term of the county court his delinquent
list, and he shall, within thirty days after said list has
been approved by the court, make off copies of said list,
setting forth the names of the owners of dogs in each
magisterial district in his county who have been returned
delinquent for the non-payment of the tax thereon, and
the number of dogs charged to each delinquent; and he
shall cause one of said copies to be delivered to the con-
stable of each district, who shall forthwith lay the same
before a justice of his district, and said justice shall issue
a warrant to the constable, commanding him to kill the
dogs set forth as delinquent in said list. The constable
shall, without unnecessary delay, proceed to discharge his
duties in this behalf; but before killing any dog, if the
amount of tax and cost hereby incurred (including a fee
of fifty cents to the constable) be tendered to him, he
shall give his receipt for the amount and shall not
kill said dog. The constable shall make return to the
justice within sixty days of the manner in which he has
executed said warrant, specifying how may dogs he has
killed, and to whom they were charged, and the amount
of tax collected by him, and from whom, and the justice
shall forthwith certify to the commissioner appointed under
this act the amount of taxes collected by said constable,
and from whom collected, and the constable shall pay over
to said commissioner the amount and take his receipt
therefor. The constable shall receive for each dog killed
the sum of one dollar out of the funds created by this

to be paid by the commissioner upon the certificate
of the justice to whom he shall have returned the war-
rant; and for a failure to kill any dog when practicable,
which he has been ordered to kill, he shall be fined the
sum of five dollars by any justice in his district.

§ 5. When the commissioners of the revenue shall have
ascertained the number of dogs, they shall assess as a
license tax for keeping dogs the sum of seventy-five cents
for each dog so assessed, and said sum shall be collected and
accounted for by the treasurers of said counties as county
levies are by law directed to be collected and accounted
for; and said treasurers shall keep a separate account of
money arising from said tax on dogs in their respective
counties, and shall, on or before the fifteenth day of June
of each year, pay the same (after deducting delinquents
and commissions) to a’ commissioner hereafter authorized
by this act; and said money shall be, and is hereby, ap-
propriated—first, to the payment of the fees, charges and
other expenses incurred in enforcing this act; secondly,
to pay for the destruction of panthers, wolves, foxes and
wildcats; thirdly, for remunerating the inhabitants of
said counties for any loss they may sustain by sheep being
killed by a dog or dogs.

§ 6. That when any inhabitant of either of said coun-
ties aforesaid shal] have any sheep killed by a dog or dogs,
he or she may apply for appraisers as hereinafter provided
for by this act, and they, or any two of them, are hereby
authorized and required to view and ascertain the damages
sustained by the owners of sheep killed as aforesaid; and
when they have ascertained the legality of the claim, and
the damages so sustained, they, or any two of them, hav-
ing first been sworn, shall certify the same, under their
hands and seals, to said commissioner, who shall receive
said certificate and give a receipt for the same, and at the
close of each year he shall make an estimate of such cer-
tificates as may have been presented to him, and also the
amount of all such tax of the same year; and (after hav-
ing paid all fees and expenses as herein provided, also all
rewards offered by the supervisors for the destruction of
wolves, panthers, foxes and wildcats, which have been pre-
sented properly certified to him) it shall appear that the
amount of said tax will be insufficient to discharge the
whole amount of damages for sheep killed, he shall appor-
tion the amount, and pay to each sufferer in proportion to
the loss sustained, and if at any time after settling the
yearly account as aforesaid there shall be an overplus it
shall be carried to his account of the following year.

2. The supervisors are hereby authorized to carry out
the provisions of this act so far as they may deem proper.

3. This act shall be in force from its passage.