[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of North Arlington as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-13-1984 by Ord. No. 1309 (Ch. 94, Art. I, of the 1984 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
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 such dog and every person who has such dog 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.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog within the Borough of North Arlington without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Borough Clerk upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee. No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog in said Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall, in the month of January, annually apply for and procure from the Clerk 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.
A. 
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee of either $5.20 or $8.20. N.J.S.A. 4:19A-3, along with Chapter 442 P.L. 1979 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.15) provides that there shall be a registration fee of $1 plus $0.20 for Pilot Clinic Fund (additional fee of $3 for nonneutered/nonspayed dogs). For each annual renewal, the fee for the license and registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag, and said license and registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each year.
B. 
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs, 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 shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owners or keepers of such dogs shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which the license and registration are sought, and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety, and whether it has been surgically debarked or silenced and also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk of the Borough. In addition, the Clerk shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health each month on forms furnished by the said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of application.
A. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any dog licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 90 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless such dog be licensed under § 91-9 of this article.
B. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed dog, and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 10 days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless such dog be licensed under § 91-9 of this article.
No person except an officer in the performance of duties shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any dog without the consent of the owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of §§ 91-4, 91-9, 91-10 and 91-16 of this article, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough within 30 days after collection or receipt. They shall be placed in a special account, separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough, and shall be used for the following purposes only: for collection, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this article; for local prevention and control of rabies; for payment of damage to or losses of poultry and domestic animals, except dogs and cats, caused by a dog or dogs; and for administering the provisions of this article. An 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 said special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
B. 
The registration tag fee and the Pilot Fund fees as provided in § 91-4A shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Clerk of the Borough to the State Department of Health.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
The Clerk of the Borough shall forward to the State Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include the name and address of the licensee and the kind of licenses issued.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
The Chief of Police of the Borough shall annually or biennially cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Borough and shall report to the Clerk of the Borough, to the Board of Health of the Borough and to the State Department of Health the result thereof. The report shall set forth, in separate columns, the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring such dogs, the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each of said persons, together with the registration numbers of each of said dogs, and the number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each of said persons, together with a complete description of each of said unlicensed dogs.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall from time to time by resolution establish a pound, and the Mayor shall from time to time as occasion may require nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, appoint an Animal Control Officer, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Mayor and Council. Such Animal Control Officer, any police officer or any person specifically designated or appointed by the Mayor for that purpose may impound or cause to be impounded unlicensed dogs running at large in violation of the provisions of this article.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
A. 
The Animal Control Officer or any police officer of the Borough shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or offered for adoption as provided in this section:
(1) 
Any dog off the premises, excepting those on a leash and attended, of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog, which said official or the official's 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 the collar.
(3) 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
(4) 
Any dog or other animal which is suspected to be rabid.
(5) 
Any dog or other animal off the premises of the owner reported to, or observed by, a certified Animal Control Officer to be ill, injured or creating a threat to public health, safety or welfare, or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.
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 registration tag of the owner, or the person keeping or harboring said dog is known, the Animal Control Officer or the police officer shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or 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 offered for adoption if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
C. 
A notice under this section may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served, by leaving it at the person's usual or last known place of abode or at the address given on the collar or by forwarding it by post in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his/her usual or last known place of abode or to the address given on the collar.
D. 
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as above set forth, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when no notice has been given as above set forth, 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 maintenance, not exceeding $4 per day, and if the dog is unlicensed at the time of the seizure and its owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the Animal Control Officer or the police officer of the Borough may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
E. 
At the time of adoption, the right of ownership in the animal shall transfer to the new owner. No dog or other animal so caught and detained or procured, obtained, sent or brought to a pound or shelter shall be sold or otherwise made available for the purpose of experimentation. Any person who sells or otherwise makes available any such dog or other animal for the purpose of experimentation shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
F. 
After observation, any animal seized under this section suspected of being rabid shall be immediately reported to the executive officer of the Board of Health and to the Department of Health.
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/she 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.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it to go upon any of the streets or public places of the Borough of North Arlington or upon any premises other than those owned or occupied by said persons unless such dog is confined upon a leash of not greater than six feet and is accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 94-20, Habitual barking at night prohibited, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953.
[Amended 2-9-2006 by Ord. No. 1953]
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, any person who violates any provision of this article or any of the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be subject, upon conviction thereof, to the penalties provided in Chapter 1, Article I, General Penalty. Each day that such violation continues to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
[Adopted 6-15-1992 by Ord. No. 1558 (Ch. 94, Art. II, of the 1984 Code)]
If a dog is declared potentially dangerous, the owner shall apply, at the owner's expense, for a municipal potentially dangerous dog license, a municipal registration number and a red identification tag. The last three digits of each potentially dangerous dog registration number issued by the municipality will be the three-number code assigned by the state. The code for North Arlington is 062.
The owner must display a sign on his/her property stating that there is a potentially dangerous dog on the premises.
A. 
The owner must erect and maintain an enclosure for the dog.
B. 
If the dog is removed from the enclosure, the dog must be securely muzzled and restrained with a tether, approved by an Animal Control Officer, restricting the dog's movement to no more than three feet.
The annual fee for a potentially dangerous dog license will be in the amount of $500 (male/female).
A. 
The owner of a potentially dangerous dog who is found to have violated any rule or regulation or has failed to comply with an order shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 per day of the violation, and each day's continuance of the violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.
B. 
The Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce this article. An Animal Control Officer is authorized to seize and impound any potentially dangerous dog whose owner fails to comply with any rule or regulation. The Municipal Court may order that the dog so seized and impounded be destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner.