[Adopted 12-9-1963]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under
Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, whose
mission and practice is, in whole or in significant part, the rescue
and placement of animals in permanent homes. "Animal rescue organization"
does not include any entity that breeds animals or that: (1) is located
on the same premises as; (2) has any personnel in common with; (3)
obtains, in exchange for payment or any other form of compensation,
dogs or cats from; or (4) facilitates the sale of dogs or cats obtained
from a person that breeds animals.
[Added 9-10-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-021]
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
A noncommercial establishment where one or more breeds of
dog are kept for personal breeding and where the consumer can directly
view the conditions in which the dogs are bred and can confer directly
with the hobby breeder concerning those conditions.
[Added 9-10-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-021]
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
To sell, offer for sale or adoption, advertise for the sale
of, barter, auction, give away or otherwise dispose of a dog or cat.
[Added 9-10-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-021]
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 keeping.
A commercial retail establishment where dogs and cats are
sold, exchanged, bartered or offered for sale to the general public.
Such definition shall not include an animal rescue organization, hobby
breeder, kennel, or shelter.
[Amended 9-10-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-021]
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
An animal control center, shelter or pound maintained by
or under contract with any state, county, or municipality, whose mission
and practice is, in whole, or significant part, the rescue and placement
of animals in permanent homes or rescue organizations.
[Amended 9-10-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-021]
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within
the Borough without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued
by the Borough Clerk upon application by the owner and payment of
the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog 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 of each year and annually
thereafter, apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk 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.
[Amended 12-12-1966 by Ord. No. 66-16; 12-29-1977 by Ord. No.
77-33; 12-29-1981 by Ord. No. 81-15; 12-27-1983 by Ord. No. 83-32; 12-26-1989 by Ord. No. 89-34; 2-2-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03; 9-27-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-020]
A.
The person
applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee of $15
for each spayed and/or neutered dog, which includes the sum of $1
for the registration tag of each dog and a surcharge of the sum of
$0.20 to be remitted to the Pilot Clinic Fund of the State of New
Jersey. The person applying for the license and registration tag shall
pay a fee of $20 for each nonspayed and/or nonneutered dog of reproductive
age, which includes the sum of $1 for the registration tag of each
such dog, a surcharge of the sum of $0.20 to be remitted to the Pilot
Clinic Fund of the State of New Jersey and a surcharge of the sum
of $3 to be remitted to the Animal Population Control Fund of the
State of New Jersey. The same fees shall apply for annual renewals
of license and registration tags, and said licenses, registration
tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January
of each year.
B.
Dogs used
as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs
shall be licensed and registered as other dogs as hereinabove provided
for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required
to pay any fee therefor.
C.
State law
requires that all dogs seven months old and over must be licensed
every year by January 31. If the license has not been purchased by
March 1 of any year, an additional late fee of $15 will be charged
per household owning one or more dogs, in addition to the license
fee. An owner whose dog turns seven months after March 1, or a new
resident who moves into Park Ridge after March 1 of a given year,
shall not be charged a late fee.
[Amended 5-23-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-005]
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing
age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application
for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after
such acquisition or age attainment.
A.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color
and markings of the dog for which a license and registration are sought,
whether it is of a long- or shorthaired variety and the name, street
and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep
or harbor such dog.
B.
The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three
years by the Borough Clerk. Registration numbers shall be issued in
the order of the applications.
C.
The Borough Clerk shall forward to the State Department
of Health each month, on forms furnished by said Department, an accurate
account of registration numbers issued or otherwise disposed of.
D.
The Borough Clerk or other official designated by
the governing body of the Borough to license dogs therein shall not
grant any such license and official metal registration tag for any
dog unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the dog to be
licensed and registered has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine
of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendations
of the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States
Department of Health, Education and Welfare or has been certified
exempt as provided by regulations of the State Department of Health.
Such vaccination shall be repeated at intervals as provided by regulations
of the State Department of Health and shall be administered by a duly
licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law
to do the same. The State Department of Health shall promulgate regulations
providing for the recognized duration of immunity, interval of inoculation,
certificate of vaccination, certificate of exemption and such other
matters related to this act.
[Added 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 77-33]
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 a license for such dog is not required under § 52-10.
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 a license for such dog is not required under § 52-10.
No person, except an officer in the performance
of his 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.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish
a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the Borough
Clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
All licenses issued for such establishments shall state the purpose
for which the establishment is maintained, shall expire on the last
day of January of each year and shall not be transferable to another
owner or different premises.
B.
Any person holding such license shall not be required
to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and
kept at such establishments.
The application shall describe the premises
where the establishment for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound is
located or is proposed 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 Health Officer of the Borough Board of Health, showing
compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing
the location of and sanitation at such establishments.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop,
shelter or pound shall be subject to revocation by the Council on
recommendation of the State Department of Health or the Borough Board
of Health for failure to comply with the applicable provisions of
this article or the rules and regulations of the State Department
of Health governing the same, after the licensee has been afforded
a hearing by either the State Department of Health or the Borough
Board of Health.
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 under 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 Borough Treasurer 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. Such moneys shall be used
for the following purposes only: for collecting, keeping and disposing
of dogs liable to seizure under this article; for local prevention
and control of rabies; for providing antirabic treatment under the
direction of the Borough Board of Health for any person known or suspected
to have been exposed to rabies; for all other purposes prescribed
by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering
the provisions of this article. 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 subsection. 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 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 7-8-1974 by Ord. No. 74-16]
The Borough Clerk 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 license issued.
The Chief of Police or such official, police
officer or other person designated by the said Chief shall annually
cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within
the limits of the Borough. He shall report on or before May 1 of each
year to the Borough Clerk, to the Borough Board of Health and to the
State Department of Health the result thereof, setting 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 Council may appoint, at such times and for such terms as may from time to time seem expedient, one or more persons, to be known as "Dogcatchers," whose duty it shall be to take into custody and impound dogs as provided in § 52-19, under the direction and supervision of the Chief of Police.
A.
The Chief of Police or any official, police officer
or other person designated by the said Chief shall take into custody
and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter
destroyed or disposed of as hereinafter 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
its 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 if the owner or the person keeping
or harboring said dog is known, the Chief of Police or anyone authorized
by him 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 or destroyed if not claimed
within seven days after the service of the notice.
C.
A notice under Subsection B of this section may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or 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 mail in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode or at 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 in
this section, or has been detained for seven after seizure, when notice
has not been and cannot be given as above set forth in this section,
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 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 poundmaster may cause the dog to be destroyed
in a manner causing as little pain as possible.
[Amended 7-8-1974 by Ord. No. 74-16]
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.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
[Amended 9-14-1964 by Ord. No. 64-8]
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any
dog which habitually barks or cries or which, by frequent barking,
disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood and creates a nuisance
thereby.
[Amended 8-14-1972 by Ord. No. 72-12.]
It shall be unlawful for any dog, whether licensed
or not, to run at large within the Borough. A dog shall be deemed
to be running at large when off the premises of its owner or of the
person keeping or harboring such dog and not on a leash, tether, chain,
rope or the like, the overall length of which, including the handgrip,
shall not exceed six feet, held by its owner or other person able
to control such dog.
[Amended 6-12-1972 by Ord. No. 72-11; 9-13-2005 by Ord. No.
2005-15]
A.
No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of any dog shall cause, suffer or allow such dog to soil, defile,
defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk,
passageway, bypath, play area, park or any place where people congregate
or walk, or upon any public property whatsoever, or upon any private
property without the permission of the owner of said property.
B.
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability
assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section
while such animal is being used for that purpose.
C.
The person who so curbs such dog shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method approved
by the local health authority. The feces removed from the aforementioned
designated area shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring,
keeping or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions
of this article in a sanitary manner approved by the local health
authority. Whenever any dog is present upon any public property whatsoever,
including streets and sidewalks, or upon any private property without
permission of the property owner, the person owning, harboring, keeping
or in charge or control of such dog shall be in possession of a sanitary
bag or other sanitary utensil, the design of which permits the removal
and disposal of dog feces in a sanitary manner approved by the local
heath authority.
D.
The provisions of this section shall be enforced by
the local Police Department, Superintendent of Public Works and the
Board of Health.
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 purposes of this section.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police, or the
person so designated by him, to receive and cause to be investigated
complaints against dogs. When any dog complained of shall be deemed
by the Chief of Police, or the person so designated by him, to be
a vicious dog, he shall cause a complaint to be filed against the
owner or person harboring such dog and shall cause said complaint
and summons to be served upon said owner or person harboring such
dog for a hearing to be held before the Municipal Judge, at which
time said Judge shall inquire into the facts and give all interested
persons an opportunity to be heard under oath and to be represented
by counsel.
[Amended 11-11-1974 by Ord. No. 74-25]
C.
If the Judge shall decide in accordance with the evidence before him, 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. Thereafter, no such dog determined as aforesaid to be a vicious dog shall be permitted to run at large as provided in § 52-23 hereof, and that, further, the owner or person harboring such dog shall have it securely muzzled and under leash at all times when out-of-doors. The owner or person harboring any such vicious dog who shall suffer or permit such dog to run at large, or be upon any street, public or private place in the Borough while not securely muzzled and on a leash shall be guilty of a violation of this article and in particular of this section.
[Amended 11-11-1974 by Ord. No. 74-25]
[Amended 7-8-1974 by Ord. No. 74-16; 9-13-2005 by Ord. No.
2005-15]
Any person or persons found guilty of violating
any provision of this article, shall be subject to, upon conviction
thereof, to a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 90 days imprisonment,
or both, as determined in the discretion of the Municipal Court.
[Added 7-8-1974 by Ord. No. 74-16; amended 5-11-2004 by Ord. No.
2004-2; 2-2-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
The fee for licensing any dog as required by
this article is waived for senior citizens of the Borough. A "senior
citizen" is defined as a permanent resident of the Borough, 65 years
of age or older. Senior citizens shall be required to pay $5 for the
cost of the tag for each dog.
