[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Totowa as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-29-1941 by Ord. No. 352AA (Ch.
49, Art. I, or the 1974 Code)]
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within
the Borough of Totowa without first obtaining a license therefor to
be issued by the Police Chief of the Borough upon application by the
owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep
or harbor any dog in said Borough except in compliance with the provisions
of this article.
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
of licensing age shall, annually, in the month of January, apply for
and procure from the Police Chief of the Borough a license and official
metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored
and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration
tag securely fastened thereto. No license or registration tag shall
be granted unless evidence is submitted by the owner that the dog
to be licensed and registered has been inoculated with an approved
rabies vaccine as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.2a.
[Amended 12-6-1955 by Ord. No. 593]
A.
License and registration fees.
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027; 12-14-1976 by Ord. No.
19-76; 9-25-1979 by Ord. No. 16-79; 2-17-1981 by Ord. No. 1-81; 12-1-1981 by Ord. No. 14-81; 12-13-1983 by Ord. No. 8-83]
(1)
The person applying for a license and registration
fee shall pay a licensing fee of $7 for each male or female dog. License
and registration for each dog, male or female, shall be renewed annually
on or before January 1 of each year. In addition to the license and
registration fee, there shall also be collected a fee of $1 for the
State Department of Health and Senior Services for the control of
rabies. All existing licenses shall expire on the last day of December
in each year.
(2)
In addition to the above-mentioned fees and pursuant
to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.5, as amended by P.L. 1952,
c. 37, the following additional fees shall be due along with the regular
dog licensing fee:
(a)
Pilot Spay Neutering Clinic Fund (PCF): an additional
$0.20 per license.
(b)
Animal Population Control Fund (APCF): a fee
of $3 shall be collected for nonspayed and nonneutered dogs of a reproductive
age. A dog licensing age is considered to be of reproductive age.
Owners presenting a statement signed by a veterinarian or a notarized
statement signed personally certifying that their dog has been sterilized
are exempt from the $3 fee.
(3)
Dog licenses are due on the first day of January of
each year. A late charge of $2 will be imposed after March 1 if any
person has failed to renew or make application for a license as above
mentioned.
B.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly
known as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other
dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of
such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor. Pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.3, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly
known as "service dogs" and dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly
known as "hearing ear" dogs, are exempt from the fees provided for
in this section.[1]
A.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish
a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the Police Chief
of the Borough for a license entitling him to keep or operate such
establishment.
B.
The application shall describe the premises where
the establishment is located or is proposed to be located, the purpose
or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied
by the written approval of the Health Officer of the Borough, showing
compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing
location of and sanitation at such establishments.
C.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter
or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained,
and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of January of each
year and be subject to revocation by the Borough Council on recommendation
of the State Department of Health and Senior Services or the Board
of Health of the Borough for failure to comply with the rules and
regulations of the State Department or the Board of Health of the
Borough governing the same after the owner has been afforded a hearing
by either the State Department or the Board of Health of the Borough.
D.
Any person holding such license shall not be required
to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and
kept at such establishments. Such licenses shall not be transferable
to another owner or different premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing
accommodations for 10 or less dogs shall be $10 and for more than
10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10.
No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or
pound shall be permitted off such premises, except on leash or in
a crate or other safe control.
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees,
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 of the other accounts of the Borough, and which
shall be used for the following purposes only:
(1)
For collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable
to seizure under this article.
(2)
For local prevention and control of rabies.
(3)
For providing antirabic treatment under the direction
of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected of
having been exposed to rabies.
(4)
For all other purposes prescribed by the statutes
of New Jersey governing the subject.
(5)
For administering the provisions of this article.
B.
Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account
shall be retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year following
and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section.
At the end of the said third fiscal year following, and at the end
of each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from the
special account to the general funds of the Borough any amount therein
in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into said
special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
C.
The registration fee of $1 and any additional fees
collected for the State Department of Health and Senior Services for
each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the
collector to the State Department of Health and Senior Services.
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027; 12-13-1983 by Ord. No.
8-83]
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027][1]
The Borough Council shall have power to appoint
a Animal Control Officer, whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions
of this article, and whose compensation shall be as provided annually
by contract or the Salary Ordinance.[2] The Borough Council shall also have power to appoint one
or more persons to be known as "Dog Catchers" or "Animal Control Officers,"
who may impound unlicensed dogs running at large in violation of the
provisions of this article.
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027][1]
A.
The Animal Control Officer of the Borough shall take
into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded,
and thereafter destroyed or disposed of, as provided in this section:
(1)
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person
keeping or harboring said dog, which said official or his agent or
agents have reason to believe is a stray dog.
(2)
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person
keeping or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on
his collar.
(3)
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner
or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
B.
If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having
inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any
person or a registration tag, or the owner or the person keeping or
harboring said dog is known, the Animal Control Officer shall forthwith
serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the
owner of the person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice
in writing stating that the dog has been seized and will be liable
to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after
the service of the notice.
C.
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven
days after notice, or has been detained for seven days after seizure
when notice has not been and cannot be given, and if the owner or
person keeping or harboring said dog has not claimed said dog and
paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including such
maintenance charges as shall be provided by annual contract with the
Borough Council, and if the dog is unlicensed at the time of the seizure
and the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced
a license and registration tag for said dog, the Animal Control Officer
may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain
as possible.
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered
to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go
upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog or dogs which he
may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit
of such dog or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the
dog if said owner is present and forbids the same.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any
dog which habitually barks or cries between the hours of 10:00 p.m.
and 6:00 a.m.
[Amended 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog
shall suffer or permit it to be upon the public streets or in any
of the public places of the Borough of Totowa unless such dog is securely
confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet
long.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 14 of Ord.
No. 352AA, which immediately followed this section, was deleted and
repealed 11-12-1974 by Ord. No. 1027; it provided for the muzzling
of dogs in public during July, August and September.
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, grounds or property.
[Added 9-27-1977 by Ord. No. 20-77][1]
A.
Any dog which has attacked or bitten any human being
or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals is hereby
defined to be a "vicious dog" for the purpose of this section, and
it shall be the duty of the Chief of Police and/or the Animal Control
Officer to receive and investigate complaints against dogs. When any
dog complained against shall be deemed by such Chief or Animal Control
Officer to be a vicious dog as herein defined, said officer shall
report the facts to the Judge of the Municipal Court of the Borough
of Totowa, who shall thereupon cause the owner or person harboring
such dog to be notified in writing of the complaint against such dog
and to appear before said Judge at a stated time and place. The Judge,
at the time set for such hearing, shall inquire into the facts and
give all interested persons an opportunity to be heard under oath,
and then the Judge shall decide in accordance with the evidence before
him. If the Judge shall decide that such dog complained of is a vicious
dog as defined by this section, notice of such decision shall be given
to the owner or person harboring such dog. No dog which has been so
determined to be a vicious dog shall be permitted to run at large
or be upon any street or public place in the Borough of Totowa except
while securely muzzled and under leash.
B.
If any dog, after having been determined to be a vicious dog in accordance with Subsection A, shall again bite any human being or shall again attack other dogs or domestic animals and complaint shall be made to the Judge of the Municipal Court, said Judge shall thereupon cause the owner or person harboring said dog to be notified in writing of said complaint and to appear before said Judge at a stated time and place. The Judge shall, at the time set for the hearing, inquire into the facts and give all interested persons an opportunity to be heard under oath, and said Judge shall decide in accordance with the evidence before him. If he shall decide that such vicious dog has bitten a human being or attacked another dog or domestic animal, he shall give notice of his decision to the Animal Control Officer, and said Animal Control Officer shall take said dog into custody and cause the dog to be destroyed.
[Adopted 10-8-2019 by Ord. No. 14-2019]
An ordinance to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife
so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe
penalties for failure to comply.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein
unless their use in the text of this article clearly demonstrates
a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural
number include the singular number, and words used in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any
edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing
wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of
fish and/or game.
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm,
association, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal
jurisdiction.
All animals that are neither human nor domesticated.
No person shall feed any wildlife, excluding confined wildlife
(for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers,
or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers).
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions
of this article shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $2,000.
