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Is Dogtown inspected?

Inspection

Is Dogtown inspected?

An inspection is the one moment when someone with no stake in a kennel walks through it with the power to act. Below is what triggers one, what an inspector can do with what they find, where the state rules stand, and how to ask about it.

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Weimaraner walking across the Dogtown yard

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

When

Inspection comes before a license is granted, before every renewal and at least once a year

Section 137A of chapter 140 tells the licensing authority to deny a kennel license, new or renewed, until the kennel has passed inspection by an animal control officer. Section 137C then requires every licensed kennel in a city or town to be inspected at least once per year, by or on behalf of the mayor, select board, town manager, police chief or animal control officer. Refusing to let an inspector in is itself grounds to deny, suspend or revoke the license.

Inspection also sets a number. After it, the licensing authority and the animal control officer decide the maximum number of animals the kennel may keep, and that figure goes on the license with the kennel type. At the advisory committee's December 17, 2025 meeting a member explained that the officer assesses the space and determines a safe limit. For commercial boarding or training kennels, the law says that number will also follow MDAR's regulations once they exist.

Before a new license and before every renewal
At least once a year after that
Refusing entry can cost the license
The inspection sets the maximum number of animals

What follows

If an inspector finds a problem, the law sets a ladder from a written citation to revocation

Ollie's Law added enforcement for commercial boarding or training kennels. If the commissioner or an authorized inspector finds a kennel is not kept in a sanitary and humane manner, or that required records are missing, they must either suspend the license or issue a written citation that explains the problem and sets a reasonable deadline to fix it, depending on how serious it is. A kennel that misses the deadline has its license revoked, and enforcement can be appealed within 21 days.

Records are part of what an inspector looks at. A kennel must keep each dog's owner's name and address available for inspection, and a commercial boarding or training kennel must keep a record of each dog's municipal license. Injuries feed in too: on MDAR's Kennel Injury Reporting Form, the animal control officer notes the kennel's license status and whether an inspection is needed, so a single report can lead to a visit.

What an inspector finds	What the law allows
Conditions not sanitary or humane	A written citation with a deadline, or suspension
Required records not kept	A written citation with a deadline, or suspension
The deadline missed	Revocation of the license
Entry refused	Denial, suspension or revocation
Enforcement the kennel disputes	An appeal within 21 days

Where the rules stand

MDAR's detailed standards are still pending, so an inspection today checks the law as it stands

Ollie's Law lets MDAR's commissioner or an authorized inspector inspect commercial boarding or training kennels to enforce the new regulations. Those visits must take place between 7 AM and 7 PM unless the inspector and licensee agree otherwise, with the licensee or an agent present; at a kennel in a private home, only the areas used for the kennel or its records have to be open. The regulations themselves were due in 2026 and had not been released as of the March 18, 2026 minutes.

That leaves inspections today checking what the law already says: sanitary and humane conditions, records and the licensed maximum. The detail the regulations may add, such as group sizes, staff ratios, housing standards and fire planning, has no statewide figure yet. In August 2025 one committee member said it would be ideal to hand animal control officers a standard document to use in inspections. MDAR's Ollie's Law page carries the current position, and our journal keeps a dated tracker.

Inspections under the new rules: 7 AM to 7 PM
The licensee or an agent present
In a home: only kennel areas and records
Regulations not released as of March 18, 2026

Asking us

Ask us about inspection at the consult, then confirm it with the city

We do not publish an inspection date or our kennel license details on this site, so ask. At the training consult, or at the free evaluation on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 at 210 Eastern Ave, ask which town issued the license, what kennel type and maximum it names and when animal control last inspected. Then call the City Clerk's office at 9 Dale Ave to confirm the license is current. The same two-step check works for any program on Cape Ann.

An inspection is a snapshot of one day, so pair it with what you can see over time. Walk through where your dog would sleep, train and play, watch a playgroup of 7 to 10, and read the daily updates through the stay. The MSPCA adds a question worth asking any kennel: when did the local fire department last inspect it? Then ask what no inspector checks for you, including methods, which at Dogtown are force-free with no prong, choke or shock collars.

01
Ask which town issued the kennel license
02
Ask the kennel type and the maximum number it names
03
Ask when animal control, and the fire department, last inspected
04
Call the City Clerk to confirm the license is current
05
Walk through the sleeping, training and play areas yourself

At Dogtown

The building being inspected

Board and train dogs train, play and sleep at 210 Eastern Ave, in the same building as Dogtown daycare and overnight stays.

Australian shepherd sitting attentively during training

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Who inspects kennels in Gloucester?

Under chapter 140, the annual inspection of a licensed kennel in a city is made by, or on behalf of, the mayor, the police chief or the animal control officer, and a kennel must pass an animal control inspection before its license is issued or renewed. The City Clerk's office issues the license, so it is the place to confirm one is current.

Does an inspection check training methods?

Not directly. The law asks whether a kennel is kept in a sanitary and humane manner, whether records are kept and how many animals the premises can hold. At the advisory committee's December 2025 meeting, members discussed listing training methods in an owner disclosure rather than regulating them. Ask any program for its methods in writing.

Can I report a concern about a kennel?

Yes. Call the clerk's office or the animal control officer in the town that licensed the kennel. If an animal or a person was hurt, MDAR's Kennel Injury Reporting Form can be filed by anyone, including a client, and anonymously if you prefer; it is submitted through the town clerk and animal control officer.

Will the new regulations bring more inspections?

They bring inspections to enforce them, carried out by MDAR's commissioner or an authorized inspector between 7 AM and 7 PM unless both sides agree otherwise. No kennel can be inspected against rules that do not exist yet, and as of the March 18, 2026 advisory committee minutes they had not been released.

Ask when we were last inspected.

Bring the question to the training consult or the free evaluation, then confirm the license with the City Clerk. We reply to the form within one hour on business days.

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