HARRY HUGHES, Governor                               997

therefor, who shall have all the powers of a peace officer
who may sell and issue dog licenses, and take into custody
and dispose of stray, injured, unlicensed, diseased or
vicious dogs in accordance with rules and regulations of the
county commissioners and pursuant to this subsection. The
county commissioners are further authorized and empowered to
provide dog pounds wherein dogs seized by dog wardens may be
placed or, in the discretion of the commissioners to enter
into agreement with adjacent counties for the establishment
of a dog pound to serve all of [such] THE counties. The
commissioners are further authorized to pay any expenses
arising from the operation of this subsection. This
subsection shall not be operative or effective within the
corporate limits of any incorporated town or city within
either county unless and until the governing body thereof
shall indicate by resolution its intention to be governed by
the provisions of this subsection.

198.

(a) If any inhabitant of a county has any sheep,
poultry, or livestock destroyed or injured by a dog or dogs,
he may apply to the sheriff of the county, who shall appoint
three disinterested persons as appraisers to view and
appraise the damages by him sustained. At least one of the
appraisers shall be a deputy sheriff of the county, and
they, under oath, shall state in writing to the county
commissioners of the 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, upon which they
shall all agree, sustained by the owner. The appraisers and
the owner of the sheep, poultry or livestock shall make oath
that they believe the sheep, poultry or livestock to have
been destroyed or injured by a dog or dogs. (b) When the
report of the proceedings has been filed, the county
commissioners of the county shall review the report, and if
in their judgment the amount of damages stated is unfair,
they shall award an amount as they may deem fair. [The] IF
THE OWNER OF THE DOG OR DOGS CANNOT BE DETERMINED, THE award
shall be paid out of the DOG LICENSE fund [hereby created].
The sworn report of the appraisers shall be deemed prima
facie evidence of the fairness of the award of damages in
each instance. The county commissioners shall not change an
award unless they 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.
(c) If the owner of the dog or dogs doing the damage be
known, it is the duty of the county commissioners to notify
the owner or owners to kill the dog or dogs immediately.
[If the dog or dogs be killed by the owner, after notice as
aforesaid, he shall be exempt from all further liability.]
If the owner or owners refuse or neglect to kill the dog or
dogs upon notice as aforesaid, the owner or owners shall be
liable [to the county commissioners] for the damages to the
same extent as he would be liable in case of negligence or
malicious destruction of property. The county commissioners