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Animal Control
Notice
- Animal control deals with cats, dogs and sick or injured wildlife. We do not respond to nuisance wildlife calls.
- Shelter is located at the DPW compound off Maple Avenue before the old Dump.
Problems with Nuisance Wildlife
Contact Pilgrim Pest Professionals, Daniel Forand, Licensed wildlife trapper for this area at 508-960-7148. Please be advised, there is a fee for his services.
General Information
Holbrook General By-Laws Section 12-1 state: No person shall permit a dog owned or kept by him/her to run at large in any of the streets or public places in the Town or upon the premises of anyone other than the owner or keeper, unless the owner or occupant of such premises grants permission; and no dog shall be permitted in any public place or street within the Town unless the dog is held firmly on a leash or chain. The length of the leash or chain shall not exceed six feet when off the property of the owner or keeper. An owner or keeper may use a leash of a greater length to restrain a dog on the property of the owner or keeper, provided the dog is securely confined to the premises of the owner or keeper.
It shall be the duty of the Dog Officer and every Police Officer to apprehend any dog found running around at large and to impound such dog in the Town Pound. The Dog Officer upon receiving any dog shall make a complete registry, entering the breed, color and sex of such dog and whether licensed. If licensed, the Dog Officer shall enter the name and address of the owner and the number of the license tag.
No later than three days after the impounding of any dog, the owner shall be notified or if the owner of the dog is unknown, written notice shall be posted for three days at one or more conspicuous places in the Town describing the dog and the place and time of taking. The owner of any dog so impounded may reclaim such dog upon payment of the license fee, if unpaid, and all costs and charges incurred by the Town for the impounding and maintenance of such dog.
The Dog Officer is hereby authorized to seek a complaint against the owner or keeper of a dog who is found to have violated the provisions of the by-law for which the following penalties shall be imposed:
- A fine of $25 for the first offense
- A fine of $50 for the second offense
- A fine of $75 for the third offense and each subsequent offense
Whenever a complaint is sought in the district court for violation of this section and the imposition of the fines of this section appropriate for the particular offense, then the procedures set forth in Chapter 140, Section 173A shall be followed.
Looking for a place for your dog to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under your supervision? See below for a list of Dog Parks within a 20-mile radius of Holbrook. Click each name for a link to the web page for more information.
| Dog Park | Address |
|---|---|
| Town of Randolph Dog Park | Goldstein Open Space 201 West Street Randolph, MA 02343 |
| Abington Dog Park | 441 Summer Street Abington, MA 02351 |
| Sharon Dog Park | 34 E Foxboro Street Sharon, MA 02067 |
| South Field Dog Park | Union Point 25 Memorial Grove Avenue Weymouth, MA 02190 |
| Quincy Dog Park | 134 Quarry Street Quincy MA 02169 |
| South Boston Bark Park | 1280 Columbia Road Boston, MA 02127 |
| Stodder's Neck | Lincoln Street Hingham, MA, USA |
| Marshfield Dog Park | 35 Proprietors Drive Marshfield, MA, USA |
| Animal Shelter | Address |
|---|---|
| Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts | 1300 West Elm Street, Ext. Brockton, MA 02301 |
| South Shore Humane Society | Braintree, MA 02185 |
| The Scituate Animal Shelter | 780 Chief Justice Cushing Highway Scituate, MA 02066 |
| Quincy Animal Shelter | 440R E Squantum Street Quincy MA 02169 |
| Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA - Angell) | 350 South Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02130 |
| Animal Rescue League of Boston | N/A |
- Is it true that if nocturnal animals (Raccoons, coyotes, ext.) are out during the day then they are rabid?
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No, these animals will venture out during the day for many reasons, such as feeding their young, not being able to hunt the previous night due to bad weather, or if their denning area has been disturbed.
- Is there a leash law?
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Yes all dogs mush be leashed any loose dog will be fined. There is also a pooper scooper law stating that you must pick up after your dog when you are walking it on a public way or any other area that is not your property. Be a good neighbor, do not allow your dogs to use other people's lawns for a bathroom.
There are no dogs allowed on school ball fields or the playgrounds. This is also a fineable offense. When entertaining the thought of allowing your dog to run and play in these areas, think of the children who are using these places for ball games and other school related things. They don't want to clean dog poop off their clothes or shoes, that is why this law was put into effect.
There are no laws pertaining to cats, except that they must be vaccinated for rabies. Cats are free roaming animals.
- Why are we seeing so many coyotes and other wild animals in our neighborhood?
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As we continue to build new homes in the area, our wild life is being forced into smaller living areas. This means it is much more common to see them all around town at many different times threw out the day and the night. When sighting these animals, it is a good thing to report it to the Animal control officer, so I can keep track. However, there is nothing I can do about these sightings unless the animal is poising a treat, is sick, or is injured.
I do not remove healthy wildlife. There are many ways to keep wildlife out of your general space. Make sure all holes in and around your home, shed, fence, and garage are properly fixed before baby season arrives. Animals are opportunists, they will find the easiest way to make a home.(attics, under sheds, holes of trees, an unoccupied dog house, and more). Also keep all your rubbish in tightly sealed and covered containers. It is a wise idea to keep these containers in a shed or garage until rubbish day, to avoid animals raiding them. Baby season starts in or around APRIL, for most wildlife. Squirrels have young in the spring and the fall. Please do not feed any wild animals or their young, this will keep them from moving on and doing what nature intended them to do.
Do Not handle baby wild animals even if they are cute and cuddly, they are wild, they carry diseases other than the obvious ones that we know about.
- Can I catch West Nile virus from a dead bird?
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West Nile virus is contracted from a mosquito. You can not get it from any other source. Holbrook is a West Nile positive town, as are most towns. To help keep the mosquito population down, you should avoid having any freestanding, stagnant water around your yard (old tires, buckets, toys, ext.). Also change bird waters daily. For freestanding fishponds or large puddles that take days to dry up, there is a mosquito dunk that can be purchased at most hardware stores that work well by killing larvae but will not harm fish or other animals. These also stay affective for about a month, even if the area dries up for a little while, then fills again.