THE SHEEP-KILLING DOG. 27 



may complain to any township auditor, or to any justice of the peace, magis- 

 trate, or alderman of the township, town, borough, or city. Such complaint 

 shall be in writing, shall be signed by the person making such complaint, and 

 shall state when, where, and how such damage was done, and by whose dog 

 or dogs, if known. Such township auditor, justice of the peace, magistrate, or 

 alderman shall at once examine the place where the alleged loss or damage 

 was sustained and the live stock or poultry injured or killed, if practicable. 

 He shall also examine, under oath or affirmation, any witness called before 

 him. After making diligent inquiry in relation to such claim, such township 

 auditor, justice, magistrate, or alderman shall determine whether any damage 

 has been sustained and the amount thereof, and, if possible, who was the 

 owner of the dog or dogs by which such damage was done. 



Any owner or keeper of such dog or dogs shall be liable to the owner of 

 such live stock or poultry in a civil action for all damages and costs, or to the 

 county to the extent of the amount of damages paid by such county as herein- 

 after provided. 



SEC. 26. Upon making the examination required in section twenty-five of this 

 act, the township auditor, justice, magistrate, or alderman shall immediately 

 make a certificate thereto, signed and sealed by him, that such appraisement 

 was regularly and duly made. If, by such examination, it appears that any 

 damage has been sustained by the complainant, the township auditor, justice, 

 magistrate, or alderman shall deliver the report of such examination, and all 

 papers relating to the case, to the claimant, or his agent or attorney, upon pay- 

 ment of the costs up to that time. Such report shall be delivered to the county 

 commissioners to be filed in their office. 



SEC. 27. Township auditors, justices of the peace, magistrates, and aldermen, 

 for the special service required under sections twenty-five and twenty-six of 

 this act, shall receive two dollars for each case, and five cents per mile for each 

 mile traveled, to be paid by the claimant in each case. In all cases where 

 damages are awarded, the fees paid by claimants shall be included in the 

 amount of such damages. 



SEC. 28. Upon the commissioners of the county receiving such report, if it 

 appears thereby that a certain amount of damage has been sustained by the 

 claimant, they shall immediately draw their order on the treasurer of the 

 county in favor of the claimant for the amount of loss or damage such claimant 

 has sustained according to such report, together with necessary and proper 

 costs incurred. Such amount shall be paid by the proper county. No person 

 shall receive any order for any claim until the township auditor, justice of 

 the peace, magistrate, or alderman before whom the claim was made has certi- 

 fied that due diligence was made to ascertain whose dog or dogs did the 

 damage, and that the carcasses of the live stock or poultry killed, and for 

 which damages have been assessed, were buried within twenty-four hours 

 after the assessment of damages. The owners of any live stock or poultry 

 killed by dogs, or live stock necessarily destroyed because of having been 

 bitten by a dog, shall be paid fifty cents each for burial of such live stock or 

 poultry killed, to be paid as other damages under this section. Upon payment 

 by the county of damages to live stock or poultry by dogs, the rights of the 

 owner of such live stock or poultry against the owner of the dog, to the extent 

 of the amount of damages so paid by such county, shall enure to the benefit 

 of the county. 



SEC. 29. No payment shall be made for any item which has already been 

 paid by the owner of the dog or dogs doing the injury. The fact that no such 

 payment has been made shall be certified by the township auditor, justice of 

 the peace, magistrate, or alderman. 



When any payment is made by the county for any live stock bitten by a dog, 

 such payment shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each horse or mule, 

 forty dollars for each head of cattle, or six dollars for each head of swine. 



SEC- 30. Any valid claims or parts thereof for loss or damage to sheep, 

 horses, mules, cattle, or swine, which have accrued under any general or local 

 laws at any time prior to the passage of this act, shall not abate by reason of 

 the repeal of such general or local act, but shall be paid out of the general 

 fund of the proper county. 



All claims or parts thereof remaining unpaid for any reason at the close of 

 any year shall not abate, but shall continue as claims until paid in full. 



SEC. 31. If, in the report of the township auditor, justice of the peace, magis- 

 trate, or alderman, the name of the owner of any dog or clogs having caused 

 loss or damage to any live stock is definitely and conclusively shown, the 



