THEODORE R. MCKELDIN, GOVERNOR 1017

Code of Maryland (1951 Edition), title "Licenses", sub-
title "Dog Licenses in the Counties", be and it is hereby
repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as
follows:

206. When any inhabitant of any 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 said
county, who shall appoint three disinterested persons as
appraisers to view and appraise the damages by him sus-
tained, 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 of said county 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, however, 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 Com-
missioners 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 shall 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 Commissioners may in their discretion
have the special officers or constables to kill said dog or
dogs. In Montgomery County, however, the County Coun-
cil in lieu of notifying the owner or owners to kill such
dog or dogs may require such owner or owners to execute
and file with the Clerk of the County Council a bond in