[Adopted 8-13-1962 (Ch. 24, Art. I of the 1971 Code)]
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
of licensing age shall, each year, apply for and procure from the
Borough Clerk a license and official metal registration tag for each
such dog and shall place on each such dog a collar or harness with
said registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[Amended 12-10-1979 by Ord. No. 13-79; 12-9-1991 by Ord. No.
1991-16; 2-10-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-4]
A.
The person applying for the license and registration
tags shall pay the sum of $7, representing a combined license and
dog tag fee for each dog, and for each annual renewal, the fee for
the license and registration tags shall be the same as for the original
license and tag, and said licenses, registration tags and renewals
thereof shall expire on the first day of May of each year. Dogs used
as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "seeing eye" dogs
shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinbefore provided,
except that the owner or keeper thereof shall be exempt from paying
any fee.
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
B.
The licenses which are not renewed as of the last
day of May of each year shall be charged a late fee of an additional
$3.
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
C.
Commencing in calendar year 2012, license effective
dates shall commence the first day of January of each calendar year
and expire the last day of December of that calendar year.
[Amended 4-2-2012 by Ord.
No. 2012-11]
A.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age
or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make applications
for and procure a license and registration tag for such dog within
10 days after acquisition or age attainment.
B.
"Dog of licensing age" shall be any dog which has
attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent
teeth.
C.
There shall be no adjustment of the license or registration
fee for licenses or registration tags issued and valid for a fractional
portion of the license year.
Any person who shall bring a dog into this Borough
from another state shall apply for a license and registration tag
for said dog within 90 days after it is brought into this Borough
if it is registered in such other state and within 10 days if it is
not registered in such other state.
The annual license fees for kennels, where permitted
by the Borough Zoning Ordinance,[1] shall be as follows:
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
Promptly after June 1 of each year, a canvass
shall be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored in the Borough in
accordance with Section 15 of Chapter 151 of the Laws of 1941 of the
State of New Jersey, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said section, former N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.15, was repealed by L.2015, c. 95, § 47, effective
8-10-2015.
Every person owning, keeping or harboring any
dog in this Borough shall:
A.
Prevent such dog from running at large upon any public
street or other public place at any time.
B.
Prevent such dog from being on any public street or
other public place at any time 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 in length.
C.
Prevent such dog from running at large upon the lands
of any person other than the person owning, keeping or harboring such
dog, without the consent of the owner of such lands.
D.
Prevent such dog from injuring or damaging any vegetable
garden, flower garden, lawn, plant, tree, shrubbery, grounds or other
property of any person other than the person owning, keeping or harboring
such dog.
E.
Prevent such dog from worrying, wounding or killing
any other dog or other domestic animal.
F.
Prevent such dog from becoming a public nuisance.
G.
Prevent such dog, if it is a female and in season,
from being off the grounds or property of the person owning, keeping
or harboring such dog.
The Chief of Police or Dog Warden appointed
by Borough Council 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 article:
A.
Any dog off the premises of the person owning, keeping
or harboring said dog which such officials or their agents have reason
to believe is a stray dog;
B.
Any dog off the premises of the person owning, keeping
or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on its collar
or harness;
C.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the person
owning, keeping or harboring said dog; or
D.
Any dog, whether licensed or not, that shall be found running at large upon any public street or other public place at any time or that shall be found at any time doing any of the other things prohibited in § 74-12 of this article and which the person owning, keeping or harboring said dog is required by this article to prevent.
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 Chief of Police or Chairman of
the Police Committee, or any person authorized by him in that behalf,
shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the
collar or harness, or on the owner or 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. A notice under
this section may be served either by delivering it to the person on
whom it is to be served or by leaving it at such person's usual or
last known place of abode or at the address shown on the collar or
harness or by forwarding it by mail in a prepaid letter addressed
to such person at his usual or last known place of abode or to the
address shown on the collar or harness.
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
$1 per day, and if said dog is unlicensed at the time of seizure and
the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced
a license and registration tag for said dog, the Chief of Police,
Chairman of the Police Committee or the Dog Warden may cause said
dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
[Amended 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
Any dog which has attacked or bitten any person
or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals is hereby
defined to be a vicious dog, for the purpose of this section. It shall
be the duty of the Chief of Police to receive and investigate complaints
against dogs, and when any dog against which a complaint has been
made shall be deemed by the Chief of Police to be a vicious dog as
herein defined, he shall take said dog into custody and impound it
or cause it to be taken into custody and impounded. When the owner
or person keeping or harboring said dog is known, the Chief of Police
shall file a complaint with the Borough Magistrate against said owner
or person. Any such complaint may be filed by any person having knowledge
of the facts. If the Magistrate shall decide that said dog is a vicious
dog as defined in this section, he may order said dog to be destroyed
or order the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog to properly
restrain or confine said dog or make such other order as, in his discretion,
he may deem proper or, in his discretion, impose a fine of not less
than $50 nor more than $500. When any vicious dog has been impounded
and the name of the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog
is not known, the Chief of Police may order said dog to be destroyed
after it has been detained seven days after seizure.
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 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 performing any duty which he is authorized or empowered
to perform under this article.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
shall provide it with proper and adequate food and water, proper shelter
and protection from the weather and with humane care and treatment.
No person shall inhumanely beat, ill-treat, torment or otherwise abuse
a dog.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
Borough to:
A.
Provide a central agency for the rapid reuniting of
lost dogs and their owners.
B.
Provide facilities for the quick removal of unwanted
dogs from the community.
C.
Enable as many unclaimed dogs as possible to be placed
in new homes and to provide for the humane destruction of unwanted
dogs.
D.
Provide clean, comfortable shelter and adequate food
and water for the animals impounded.
E.
Protect the rights of dog owners.
F.
Provide protection of the rights of citizens of the
community against careless or thoughtless dog owners.
[Amended 12-9-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-16; 2-10-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-4; 3-9-1998 by Ord. No. 1998-1]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article or do any act or thing herein prohibited or neglect,
fail or refuse to do any act or thing herein required to be done shall,
upon conviction, pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500
for each offense.
