No Lowell ordinance restricts dogs by breed, and breed-specific regulation is barred statewide: both Lowell Code Section 104-9.1 and Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140, Section 157 provide that no city or town shall regulate dogs in a manner that is specific to breed. Dogs are instead regulated by individual behavior through the dangerous-dog process.
Lowell does not impose any breed ban or breed-specific restriction. The city's dangerous-and-nuisance-dog ordinance, Chapter 104, Section 104-9.1, mirrors the controlling state statute and states that 'No city or town shall regulate dogs in a manner that is specific to breed.' That language tracks Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140, Section 157, the 2012 reform that made breed-specific legislation unlawful across the Commonwealth. Lowell's ordinance further provides that no dog may be deemed dangerous 'solely based upon growling or barking... based upon the breed of the dog,' reinforcing that any restriction must be based on a particular dog's conduct rather than its breed. Owners therefore cannot be subjected to breed-based muzzle, insurance, or housing requirements; such requirements attach only after an individual dog is adjudicated dangerous under the Section 104-9.1 hearing process.
Because breed-specific regulation is prohibited, there are no breed-based penalties. Restrictions (restraint, confinement, muzzling, $100,000 insurance, alteration, or euthanasia) apply only to an individual dog after it is deemed dangerous through the Section 104-9.1 hearing, and noncompliance with such an order is punished under MGL c.140, Section 157A by a fine up to $500 or up to 60 days for a first offense.
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