I(Photo: Public Domain / Huggorm)

If you are a dog owner moving to Massachusetts, moving your town of residence within Massachusetts, adopting a new dog, or even dog-sitting for a friend or relative, its important to be familiar with your local dog law. In the not too distance past, this could be a very time-consuming process.

One of the ways that the growth of information technology and the world wide web can help people is the availability of original reference materials. In Massachusetts, .this means that most of the towns and municipalities post their local ordinances on-line.

One of the best places to start is Mass.gov . This portion of the site (http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2terminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=State%20Government&L2=Local%20Government&sid=massgov2&b=terminalcontent&f=cc_landing&csid=massgov2) is linked directly to many of the individual websites for each community. Generally, either there is a linked table of contents for local laws or a searchable index.

If your community is not linked to Mass.gov then the old standby of search engines will often provide you the link to the town site. If your local ordinance's are not listed online, generally your best course of action is to call the Town Clerk and ask which office maintains copies of the local dog laws and determine whether you have to go in to read them or if the town will copy and mail them to you, generally for a fee.

A small amount of research can go a long way to avoiding proplems in a new neighborhood. The laws provide a social contract between the citizens of a town, human and dog. Know what the fine print says. Even if the information is available online, it may not hurt to visit town hall to get a feel for how pet ownership is viewed in your town, and what the pitfalls may be.

Finally, if you are relocating, pay particular attention to dog license reciprocity. In most communities, you are not required to relicense a dog but you do need to notify the town as to which Massachusetts town your dog is licensed in. The same is true for a "guest" dog if they are staying more than 30 days in some towns.

Be safe. Check the laws.