[Adopted 8-21-1968 by Ord. No. 96]
All dogs, regardless of sex, over six months of age and not confined to a licensed kennel, kept within the limits of the Borough of Branchville, shall be licensed as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 1-7-1976 by Ord. No. 145; 9-21-1983]
A. 
Licenses shall be issued yearly by the Dog Warden or other duly appointed person for a period coextensive with the calendar year or such part thereof as remains at the time of the issuance of said license, upon the payment to him of the yearly license fee (regardless of sex of dog), which is established as follows:
[Amended 7-15-2009 by Ord. No. 06-2009]
Fee to State of New Jersey dog registration tag fee
$1.00
Fee to State of New Jersey for Animal Population Control Fund for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization
$3.00
Fee to State of New Jersey for Pilot Clinic Fund
$0.20
Fee to municipality for dog license
$8.80
Total
$13.00
B. 
All licenses shall expire at midnight on the last day of the year for which issued, and the fees paid therefor shall be the same regardless of the time of the issuance of such license.
[Amended 7-15-2009 by Ord. No. 06-2009]
C. 
In the event that a dog license is required and not obtained, there shall be an additional license fee of $5 for each month or part of a month in which a license has not been obtained 30 days after the annual rabies clinic held in the Borough of Branchville.
[Added 9-2-1987 by Ord. No. 7-87]
[Amended 7-15-2009 by Ord. No. 07-2009]
Dogs kept in kennels need not be individually licensed, provided the kennel is licensed and the dog or dogs kept therein are not permitted to run at large. A "kennel" is defined to be a place where a dog or dogs are confined within the boundaries of the premises of the occupant, but no place shall be construed to be a kennel unless it is marked with a kennel name posted in a conspicuous place. The fee for a kennel in which not more than 10 dogs are kept shall be $50 minimum. Kennel licenses shall be issued by the Dog Warden for the same periods of time as dog licenses. All dogs over six months of age shall be counted in the number of dogs kept in a kennel.
The word "dogs" as used herein shall apply to and include canines of both sexes.
[Amended 9-2-1987 by Ord. No. 9-87]
License fees or other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees or other fees payable to the state, shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any other accounts of the municipality and used for only the purposes recited in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.11, and, if not expended for such purposes, shall be retained and held and ultimately disposed of in the manner in that section provided.
There shall be secured at Borough expense metallic tags or tags of other suitable material and certificates for delivery to licensees. When a license is issued for an individual dog, the licensee shall be provided with such tags and a certificate. Such tag shall have stamped thereon a number and the year of issue. The certificate shall bear a number corresponding to the number on the tag and, in addition thereto, shall show the age, color, breed, sex, license tag number, name of dog and name and address of owner. When a license is issued for a kennel, the licensee shall be provided with a certificate only, which said certificate shall show the name and address of the owner, location and name of the kennel, year for which license is issued, number of dogs permitted and the fee paid for same. The Clerk shall keep a copy of all licenses issued. The certificate shall constitute the license.
Such tag must be on the dog at all times and fastened to the collar. No tag shall be used upon any other dog except the dog for which it is issued, nor shall anyone maliciously remove or mutilate said tag. Satisfactory proof being presented that said tag has been lost or stolen, the Warden shall issue another tag, which shall be noted upon the original certificate and record, upon the payment of an additional fee of $0.50.
No dog shall be permitted or allowed to bark, cry, whine or otherwise disturb the peace, quiet or sleep of anyone for any unreasonable length of time.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon any of the public streets or upon any private property in the Borough of Branchville (except the private property of the person owning, keeping or harboring any such dog, or except upon premises where permission has been given by the owner thereof to the person owning, keeping or harboring any such dog to keep it on the private property of the person so giving permission) unless such dog is accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years and is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
[Amended 8-20-1969 by Ord. No. 102; 9-2-1987 by Ord. No. 9-87]
The Dog Warden or any person, firm or agency appointed for the purpose by the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough of Branchville shall take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, any dog running at large on any public street or on any private premises when the said official or his agent or agents or firm or agency appointed for that purpose have reason to believe any such dog is a stray dog, and thereafter, provided at least seven days shall have elapsed from the time of such impounding, such stray dog shall be destroyed or disposed of. Such persons, firm or agency shall take or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and disposed of in any manner hereinbefore set forth, any dog without a current registration tag on his collar if such dog is off the premises of his owner or off the premises of any person keeping or harboring such dog. Such person, firm or agency shall take or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and disposed of as aforesaid, any unattended dog if such dog is off the premises of its owner or off the premises of any person keeping or harboring such dog. In the event that a dog is impounded as herein provided with a current license tag, the owner is to be notified that the dog is in custody. The owner must claim the dog within seven days after notice is given and make payment of reasonable charges, which shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of the governing body. In the event that the dog is not claimed within the time period above stated, it shall be conclusively presumed that the dog has been abandoned and it shall be destroyed as provided for above.
[Amended 9-2-1987 by Ord. No. 9-87]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog over the age of two months which has been known to be vicious by having previously attacked or bitten some person or persons shall permit such dog to be upon a public highway or upon any premises other than those occupied by the dog's owner or those of a person who has given permission to said owner to keep or harbor such dog on his premises, unless such dog wears a muzzle securely fastened over his jaws in such manner that he cannot bite.
[Amended 10-6-2021 by Ord. No. 07-2021]
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, ground or property. Dog owners/dog walkers are responsible to pick up their dog's feces when deposited on property within the Borough of Branchville and take the feces to their home or deposit them in an appropriate public trash receptacle. Failure to do so is subject to a $25 fine for the first offense and $50 fine for each subsequent event. This section will be enforced by the Borough's Code Enforcement Official.
The Borough Council shall hire any person, firm or agency for a term not to extend beyond the 31st day of December in the year in which such person, firm or agency is so hired, and such person, firm or agency shall act as dogcatcher and it shall be his duty to take up at any time all dogs found by him at large within the Borough limits in violation of any of the provisions of this article. He shall receive such compensation as the Mayor and Borough Council may fix by resolution.
It shall be the duty of such person, firm or agency as such dogcatcher, upon taking up said dogs as are taken into custody and impounded, to dispose of or destroy same in accordance with the provisions of this article.
No person shall molest, obstruct or interfere with any person appointed or designated by the Mayor and Borough Council to enforce the provisions of this article when such person or persons are engaged in the performance of their duties.
Any person who keeps or harbors a dog on the premises occupied by him or her or permits a dog there to remain shall be deemed the owner thereof and liable for the observance or violation of any of the provisions of this article.
[Amended 9-2-1987 by Ord. No. 9-87; 1-16-2008 by Ord. No. 01-2008]
Except as otherwise provided by statute, any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalties provided by § 1-15 of this Code.