HERBERT R. O'CONOR, GOVERNOR. 1395

183G. When any inhabitant of the county shall have any
sheep, poultry or livestock destroyed or injured by a dog or
dogs, he may apply to any Justice of the Peace of the county,
who shall appoint three disinterested persons as appraisers
to view and appraise the damages by him sustained, and they,
or a majority of them, under oath, shall state in writing to
the County Commissioners of said county, the number of sheep,
poultry, or livestock killed, the character and extent of the
injury, if any done, and the amount of the damages sustained
by the owner; and both the appraisers and the owner of the
sheep, poultry or livestock shall make oath that they believe
the same to have been destroyed or injured by a dog or dogs;
and when the report of such proceedings has been filed, the
County Commissioners shall review said report, and if in
their judgment the amount of damages stated is unfair, they
shall award such amount as they may deem fair, which award
shall be paid out of the fund hereby created; provided, how-
ever, that the said sworn report of the appraisers shall be
deemed prima facie evidence of the fairness of the award of
damages in each instance; and provided, further, that the
County Commissioners shall not change such an award unless
they shall have personal knowledge of its unfairness, or shall
receive competent testimony to the effect that the award is in
excess of a fair commercial valuation of the sheep, poultry or
livestock injured or destroyed by dogs. And if the owner of
the dog or dogs doing the damage be known, it shall be the
duty of the County Commissioners to notify such owner or
owners to kill said dog or dogs immediately. If such dog or
dogs be killed by the owner, after notice as aforesaid, he shall
be exempt from all further liability, but in case the said owner
or owners should refuse or neglect to kill said dog or dogs
upon notice as aforesaid, the said owner or owners shall be
liable to the County Commissioners for said damages to the
same extent as he would be liable in case of negligence or
malicious destruction of property, and the said County Com-
missioners may in their discretion have the special officers or
constables to kill said dog or dogs.

283H. Any person violating or refusing to comply with any
of the provisions of this sub-title shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor and upon conviction thereof before any Justice of
the Peace of the county, or in the Circuit Court of the county,
shall be fined a sum of not less than five dollars nor more than
twenty-five dollars or shall be imprisoned in the county jail
for not more than thirty days, or shall be both fined and im-
prisoned in the discretion of the court. It shall be the duty
of the State's Attorney, the Sheriff and the constables to prose-
cute all persons found violating the law by refusing to comply
with its provisions.