[Adopted 6-19-1969 by Ord. No. 998 (Ch. 19 of the 1969 Code)]
A. 
For the purposes of this article, the words hereinafter defined shall have the meanings herein indicated, as follows:
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, shall mean and include every person having a right of property in such dog and every person who has such dog in his 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 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24]
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation or association of persons.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs or other animals are received, housed and distributed.
[Amended 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24]
TOWN
The Town of Phillipsburg in the County of Warren.
B. 
Word usage.
(1) 
"And" and "or" may be used interchangeably, and either of the two may be applicable, whichever is more conducive towards the effectuating of this article.
(2) 
Personal pronouns shall mean either the singular or the plural, whichever is applicable and conducive toward the effectuating of this article.
(3) 
The masculine, feminine or the neuter gender shall be implied wherever is appropriate and conducive for the effectuating of the article.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within the Town without first obtaining a license and registration tag and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application to the Municipal Clerk for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which license and registration are sought and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety; also the name, street, post office address and phone number 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 issuing officer of the Town; in addition, he shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health and Senior Services each month on forms furnished by said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the applications.
[Amended 9-25-1979 by Ord. No. O:79-36; 9-15-1981 by Ord. No. O:81-32; 9-6-1983 by Ord. No. O:83-15; 1-7-1986 by Ord. No. O:85-28; 4-18-1989 by Ord. No. O:89-11; 11-4-1993 by Ord. No. O:93-31; 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24; 12-21-2010 by Ord. No. O:2010-18; 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. O:2018-36; 12-17-2025 by Ord. No. O:2025-23]
A. 
License and registration tag fees.
(1) 
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee as set forth below:
(a) 
All unspayed or unneutered dogs: $13.
(b) 
All spayed and neutered dogs: $10.
(c) 
Persons over 65 years of age shall be entitled to a reduction of $1 in the applicable fees.
(2) 
All tags and registrations shall expire on the 31st day of December of each year.
B. 
Exceptions. 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 registered and licensed in the same manner as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper shall not be required to pay any fee.
C. 
Any dog owner or person harboring a dog found to have an unlicensed dog by the Animal Control Officer, dog canvassers or any other municipal official after February 1 shall be required to pay an additional delinquent fee of $5 per month plus the required license fee, as provided in this article, for his dog license, together with any other fine due to summons issued that may be imposed on him, as provided in this article, for failure to obtain a dog license before February 1. The aforementioned fee shall not apply to dogs which have been acquired by the owner after February 1, for which the license fee shall be the same as required in the first part of this section. The owner, however, must present sufficient proof to establish that said dog was acquired after February 1.
A. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Town any dog licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Town for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, to the Municipal Clerk, unless such dog is licensed under § 172-21 of this article.
B. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Town any unlicensed dog and who shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the Town for a period of more than 10 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, to the Municipal Clerk, unless such dog is licensed under § 172-21 of this article.
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 or shelter or a pound shall apply to the Municipal Clerk of the Town 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 and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied by a written approval of the Zoning Officer or Animal Control Officer of the Town showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing location of, and sanitation at, such establishment.
[Amended 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
C. 
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained. All such licenses shall expire the last day of January in each year and be subject to revocation by the Town Council on recommendation of the Zoning Officer or Animal Control Officer of the Town of Phillipsburg for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department or the Board of Health of the Town governing the same after owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department or the Board of Health of the Town.
[Amended 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
D. 
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishment; such licenses shall not be transferable 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 monies collected or received under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Town within 30 days after collection or receipt, and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Town, and 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 antirabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies;
(4) 
For all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject and for the administering of 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 such special account to the general funds of the Town 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.
C. 
The registration tag fee for each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Municipal Clerk to the State Department of Health and Senior Services.
[Amended 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24]
The Municipal Clerk shall forward to the State Department of Health and Senior Services 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.
[Amended 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24; 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
The Animal Control Officer or any other person(s) designated for the purpose by the Mayor shall either annually or biennially, at the direction of the Mayor, cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Town and shall report, on or before September 1 of the year in which the census is taken, to the Municipal Clerk of the Town and the State Department of Health and Senior Services the result thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs, 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.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. O:2018-36]
The Town Council shall appoint an Animal Control Officer, whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this article.
[Amended 11-25-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-40; 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. O:2006-24]
A. 
The Animal Control Officer 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 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;
(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 animal 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 animal is known, any person authorized by the governing body shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said animal, if known, a notice in writing stating that the animal has been seized and will be liable to be offered for adoption or destroyed 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, 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 post in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode, or to the address given on the collar.
D. 
The Animal Control Officer may cause an animal to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible and consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-19 or to be offered for adoption seven days after seizure; provided that:
(1) 
Notice is given as set forth above and the animal remains unclaimed; or
(2) 
The owner or person keeping or harboring the animal has not claimed the animal and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance costs not exceeding $25 per day; or
[Amended 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
(3) 
The owner or person keeping or harboring a dog which was unlicensed at the time of seizure does not produce a license and registration tag for the dog.
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 Town and to the Department of Health and Senior Services.
[Amended 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
An 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.
[Amended 5-4-2004 by Ord. No. O:2004-13]
No person shall harbor, keep or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries at any time.
[Amended 5-4-2004 by Ord. No. O:2004-13]
A. 
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park or in any other public building or in any other public place, or upon any property other than that owned by the license owner or keeper of the dog.
B. 
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 Town 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 long.
[Amended 7-28-1970 by Ord. No. 70-1018]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to be in any public park, and no person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall permit it to be upon any public street or other public place of the Town unless the dog is accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years, provided that children between the ages of seven and 12 years may, with the consent of their parents, accompany such dog upon any public street or other public place of the Town.
The Town Council may designate the time during which dogs outside the premises shall be muzzled, such designation to be by publication at least three times in a newspaper in which legal notices of the Town may be published. After such publications, no person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it upon a public highway, public place or outside the premises occupied by the owner during the period designated, unless such dog wears a muzzle securely fastened over its jaws in such a manner that it cannot bite.
[Amended 7-28-1970 by Ord. No. 70-1018; 10-8-1974 by Ord. No. O:74-19]
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 person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog which soils, defiles, defecates on or commits any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area 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, shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method approved by the local health authority.
C. 
The person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any such dog shall have in his/her possession at all times appropriate sanitary means, including but not limited to shovels or other implements and containers or disposal bags, to immediately remove and dispose of all feces and droppings deposited by said dog when on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any public property. Removal shall be in accordance with the provisions of this article, in a sanitary manner approved by the Animal Control Officer.
[Amended 8-5-1986 by Ord. No. O:86-30; 2-19-2013 by Ord. No. O:2013-04]
D. 
The provisions of this section shall not apply to blind persons who may use dogs as guides.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Art. V, Pet Waste, of this chapter.
[Added 9-26-1978 by Ord. No. O:78-24]
No more than a total of four dogs and/or cats of licensing age shall be kept, maintained or harbored at one time, for any length of time, in any residential housing unit or on its grounds, or in any business establishment or on its grounds. This restriction shall not apply to properly licensed kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters. All persons having harbored or controlled more than four animals, required under this article to be licensed, on or before the effective date hereof shall be permitted to keep said animal, with license, but these animals, after death, disposal or other attrition, shall not be replaced without compliance with all the provisions of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also § 172-38, License required; maximum number of cats permitted.
[Amended 11-8-1995 by Ord. No. O:95-38; 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. O:2018-36]
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any provision of this Chapter 172, Article II, or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health and Senior Services governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and to prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $55 for each first offense and not exceeding $1,000 for each subsequent offense, to be recorded by and in the name of the Town.