[Adopted 5-7-1979 by Ord. No. 304]
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AT LARGE
Off the premises of the owner and not under control either by leash, cord or chain.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
A dog:
A. 
If it has no known owner, or
B. 
If it has no known place of care or shelter, or
C. 
If it trespasses upon or damages either private or public property or annoys or harms lawful users or occupants thereof.
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every person having a right of property in that dog and every person who has that dog in his/her keeping, and when applied to the proprietorship of any other animal, including but not limited to a cat, shall include every person having a right of property in that animal and every person who has that animal in his/her keeping.
PET SHOP
Any place of business which is not part of a kennel, wherein animals, including but not limited to dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, rabbits, hamsters or gerbils, are kept or displayed chiefly for the purpose of sale to individuals for personal appreciation and companionship rather than for business or research purposes.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs or other animals seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs or other animals are received, housed and distributed.
[Amended 9-8-1981 by Ord. No. 334; 9-6-1983 by Ord. No. 360; 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5[1]]
A. 
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application for license and registration tag for such dog within 10 business days after such acquisition or age attainment. Dog licenses shall be issued by the Borough Clerk upon payment of a license fee for each dog, plus a charge for each registration tag, plus a surcharge for a Pilot Clinic Fund as required by the State of New Jersey Department of Health to provide funding for a pilot low-cost spay/neuter clinic for dogs and cats. In addition to the above license fees, there shall be a payment required for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization for an Animal Population Control Fund as required by the State of New Jersey Department of Health. The owner shall state at the time application is made for such license and upon printed forms provided for such purpose, his/her name, address and telephone number and the name, breed, color and sex of each dog owned or kept by him/her and shall present proof of compliance with all other ordinances and regulations relating to dogs. Dogs whose owners are nonresidents (temporarily within the Borough), dogs brought into the Borough for the purpose of participating in any dog show, dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seein Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly known as "service dogs" or dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" 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.
B. 
Licenses shall expire on December 31 and shall be renewed annually, subject to the same fees, charges and surcharges as for initial licensure.
C. 
In addition to the license charge set forth in Subsection A above, the owner of any dog shall pay a late registration fee for each month, or any portion thereof, for all licenses issued after February 1 of each year.
D. 
The dollar amounts of all fees, charges and surcharges required by this section are set forth in § 98-26 of this Code.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also provided that the Dog and Cat Control Fees set forth in §§ 98-26 through 98-29 and corresponding amendments to Borough Code §§ 67-2, 67-4, 67-11 and 67-21 shall be effective 1-1-2011.
[Amended 2-2-1981 by Ord. No. 326]
Any person who shall bring into the Borough of Pennington any dog licensed in another state for the current year, shall, within 90 days thereafter, apply for a license and registration tag for each dog, unless such dog is duly licensed under any other ordinance adopted by the Borough of Pennington.
Upon payment of the license fee, the Clerk shall issue to the owner a license certificate and a metallic registration tag for each dog so licensed. The tag shall have stamped thereon the year for which it was issued and the number corresponding with the number on the certificate. Every owner shall be required to provide each dog with a collar to which the license tag must be affixed and shall see that the collar and tag are constantly worn. In case a tag is lost or destroyed, a new tag will be issued by the Clerk, upon presentation of a receipt showing the payment of the license fee for the current year and the payment of $0.50 for each replacement tag. Tags shall not be transferable from one dog to another, and no refunds shall be made on any dog license fee because of death of the dog or the owner's leaving the Borough before expiration of the license period.
A. 
No person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a dog shall permit, suffer or allow said dog to:
(1) 
Run at large upon any of the public streets or roads or upon any private property, except upon premises where permission has been given by the owner, unless the dog is accompanied by some responsible person able to control said dog and is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
(2) 
Bark, cry, whine, howl or otherwise disturb the peace or quiet of the neighborhood or sleep of any person for any unreasonable length of time.
(3) 
Cause any injury or continued apprehension to any person.
(4) 
Do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or other property or run through or cross any cultivated gardens or fields.
(5) 
Be or become a public nuisance or to create a condition hazardous to safety and health.
B. 
The habitual barking, howling, whining or crying of a dog or dogs in the Borough of Pennington is hereby declared to be a disturbing noise within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:48-1(8) and a nuisance.
C. 
The owner of a female dog in season shall confine such dog in a kennel or other enclosure in such manner as to prevent its being a neighborhood annoyance and so to isolate such dog from access by male dogs.
D. 
Any person who owns, keeps, feeds or harbors any dog at any place within the Borough shall exercise sufficient and proper care and control over such animal at all times so as to prevent the dog from becoming a public nuisance.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer or other Municipal Official so designated to apprehend any dog found running at large contrary to the provisions of this article, or any dog becoming a public nuisance and to impound such dog in the Borough animal pound or other suitable place. The Animal Control Officer upon receiving any dog shall make a complete registry, entering the breed, color and sex of such dog and whether licensed. If licensed, the Animal Control Officer shall enter the name and address of the owner and the license tag number. The provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16 shall apply in the impounding or taking dogs into custody. [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 7, Notice to Owner and Redemption, which immediately followed this section was deleted 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14.
It shall be the duty of the Borough of Pennington to keep all dogs so impounded for a period of seven days. If at the expiration of seven days from the date of notice to the owner or the posting of notice, such dog shall not have been redeemed, it may be destroyed. Any dog which appears to be suffering from rabies or infected with hyrophobia, mange or other infectious or dangerous disease shall not be released but shall be destroyed with just cause presented by the veterinarian.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 10, Rabies Control; Section 11, Vicious Dogs, Section 12, Confinement of Certain Dogs; Section 13, Muzzling, which immediately followed this section, were deleted 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 5-6-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-9]
A. 
Whenever any person is bitten by a dog or other animal, the owner or person in charge of the animal shall immediately secure the same and keep it alive and confined until receipt of a notice or order from the local Board of Health.
B. 
Whenever any person is bitten by any animal or dog suspected of having rabies, the owner or person in charge, the victim or his/her guardian, the physician attending and any person having knowledge of the occurrence shall forthwith make a report to the local Board of Health or to the Police Department and shall comply in all respects with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16.
A. 
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the Borough Clerk for a license entitling him/her to keep or operate such establishment.
B. 
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to to be located and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Borough Board of Health showing compliance with borough and state rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation of such establishment.
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 license shall expire on the last day of January of each year and be subject to revocation by the Borough of Pennington on recommendations of the State Department of Health or the Borough Board of Health, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health or the Borough of Pennington. Any person holding such licenses shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensees and kept at such establishments; such licenses shall not be transferred to another owner or different premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or fewer 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.
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 of Pennington within 48 hours after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough of Pennington and shall be used for the following purposes only: for collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this article; for prevention and control of rabies; for providing antirabie treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; for payment of damages to or loses of poultry and domestic animals, except dogs and cats, caused by a dog or dogs; and for administering the provisions of this article. The Clerk shall be reimbursed from fees collected or in an amount to be determined from time to time by ordinance of Borough Council.
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 such special account to the general funds of the borough any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into such special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
C. 
The registration tag fee of $0.50 for each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Borough Clerk to the State Department of Health.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
Except as otherwise provided by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq., any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof.