[Adopted 10-21-1975 by Ord. No. 723]
The following definitions shall be applicable
to all provisions of this article:
Off the property of the owner or person in charge of custody
and not securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not
more than 10 feet long and by a person competent to properly manage
and control the actions of the dog.
[Amended 11-4-2013 by Ord. No. 1721]
The Township Administrator or anyone whom the Township Committee
may, by resolution, from time to time, appoint.
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
The Wyckoff municipal animal shelter.
Includes every person having a right of property in such
dog or other animal and every person who has such dog or other animal
in his keeping or under his control. A person shall be deemed to have
a dog or other animal in his keeping whenever the ownership or custody
of any dog or other animal is in an unemancipated infant or other
member of his household.
Any animal which is at large, appears lost, without direction
and, in the opinion of a Dog Warden, whose ownership is unknown.
The Township of Wyckoff, in the County of Bergen and State
of New Jersey.
Any dog as defined in this section which attacks and bites,
or attempts to attack or bite, persons or dogs or other animals without
being incited to do so, or which has shown such savagery, fierceness
or ferocity as to indicate that it is a threat to the safety of persons.
[Amended 10-20-1987 by Ord. No. 1018]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
of licensing age, as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 through N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.29, as amended and supplemented, shall, in the month of January
or within 10 days of acquisition thereof and annually thereafter,
apply to the Clerk of the Township of Wyckoff for a license and registration
tag for such dog. Such licenses and registration tags shall be issued
pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of said statute
and of this article, and all dogs shall be kept and controlled in
the manner provided for in said statute and this article and subject
to all of the provisions thereof.
[Amended 9-15-1981 by Ord. No. 856; 10-18-1983 by Ord. No.
910; 12-30-1985 by Ord. No. 974]
A.
The person applying for the license and registration
tag after January 1, 2022, shall, in addition to any late fee imposed,
pay a fee as follows: $18 for any dog of reproductive age which has
not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization;
$15 for all other dogs. Proof of sterilization shall be provided by
a certification executed by a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or by
the person applying for the license. In the absence of said certification,
it shall be assumed that the dog has not been sterilized and is of
reproductive age. Each license shall be renewed annually, and for
each annual renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration
tag shall be as set forth in this section, and said license shall
expire on December 31 in the year stated on the license. The fee for
a replacement tag shall be $5.
[Amended 4-10-1990 by Ord. No. 1087; 3-1-1994 by Ord. No.
1193; 7-24-2007 by Ord. No. 1564; 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1948]
B.
From February 1 until March 31 of each year, there
shall be an additional late registration fee in the amount of $15,
but during such period, the applicant shall not be subject to the
issuance of a summons in the Municipal Court.
[Amended 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1948]
[Amended 6-19-1984 by Ord. No. 927; 4-10-1990 by Ord. No.
1087]
All license fees and other moneys collected
and received pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq., and under the
provisions of this article, except state registration tag fees of
$1 per tag, State Pilot Clinic Fund fees of $0.20 per tag and State
Animal Population Control Fund fees of $3 per unaltered animal, shall
be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Township and placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the municipality
and shall be used only for the purposes enumerated in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.11,
as amended and supplemented. Dogs used as guides for blind persons
and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs, and dogs used to assist deaf
persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed
and registered as other dogs hereinbefore provided for, except that
the owner or keeper thereof shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Amended 10-20-1987 by Ord. No. 1018]
Such license shall be issued by the Clerk of the Township of Wyckoff upon application to her/him. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which the license and registration is sought, and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety; the expiration date of the mandatory rabies vaccination (if such expiration date is prior to July 1 of the licensing year, excluding one-year puppy shots, the license shall not be issued until a new certificate is presented); information regarding sterilization as outlined in § 111-3 of this chapter; also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog. Said application and the registration number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Clerk. In addition, the Clerk shall forward to the State Department of Health each month, on forms furnished by the State Department, an accurate account of registration numbers issued or otherwise disposed of, together with the state fees enumerated in § 111-4 above. The Clerk shall issue to the owner a metal tag, numbered serially, issued in the order of the applications and bearing the year of issuance and the name of the Township.
The licensing provisions of this chapter shall
not extend to a nonresident passing through the Township of Wyckoff,
accompanied by a dog or dogs kept under full control and not permitted
to run at large while in the Township. However, all persons bringing
a dog or dogs into the Township of Wyckoff, which said dog or dogs
shall be of licensing age, are required within 90 days, if currently
licensed in another state, or 10 days if unlicensed in any state,
after bringing said dog or dogs into the Township of Wyckoff to comply
with the provisions of this chapter.
There is hereby established in the Township
a municipal animal shelter. The custodian of the municipal shelter
shall be responsible for all dogs and other animals impounded or taken
into custody under the terms of this chapter and N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1
through 4:19-15.29, as amended and supplemented. The municipal shelter
shall be maintained and operated in compliance with state statutes,
rules and regulations governing shelters and pounds and such other
rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Township Committee
from time to time by resolution.
There is hereby created in the Township the
position of Municipal Dog Warden. The term of office shall be for
a period of one year and the appointment shall be made by a resolution
passed by the Township Committee at its annual meeting. There shall
be no restriction on the number of times an appointment may be renewed.
The duties of the Dog Warden shall be those as the Township Administrator
from time to time may designate.
[Amended 2-18-1986 by Ord. No. 978; 4-10-1990 by Ord. No.
1087; 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1948]
Any dog running at large or any other stray animal shall be removed and taken to the municipal shelter. The owner of such dog or other animal shall be assessed the reasonable cost of such removal and care, at a minimum of $25 for the first 24 hours and $25 for each day thereafter. The Animal Control Officer shall make diligent inquiry as to the ownership of such dog or other stray animal. Written notification shall be served either personally or by mail on the owner at his last known address. The charges hereunder shall not be in lieu of any fines or penalties which may be assessed against the owner under § 111-14 hereof.
If an owner shall not claim his dog or other
stray animal within a period of seven days after notification as herein
provided or if the ownership of any animal is unknown and the animal
is not claimed within a period of 15 days, it shall be lawful for
the custodian of the municipal shelter to dispose of the animal in
some humane manner. However, the custodian of the municipal shelter
shall, if practicable, hold all animals for a reasonable time after
the above-required periods for adoption.
[Amended 4-10-1990 by Ord. No. 1087]
The custodian of the municipal shelter shall
make appropriate inquiry into all persons seeking adoption of any
animal. In no event shall any animal be placed for adoption or otherwise
made available for the purpose of experimentation in violation of
N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16. There shall be a minimum fee of $25, payable
to the Township, for the processing of an animal to be adopted. In
addition, any person adopting any animal will be responsible for payment
of any veterinary care received by the animal during his confinement
in the municipal shelter. The charges for veterinary care only may
be waived at the discretion of the custodian of the municipal shelter,
for good cause shown.
[Amended 2-18-1986 by Ord. No. 978; 4-10-1990 by Ord. No.
1087]
Any dog running at large or other stray animal
which acts in a vicious manner or shows signs of rabies may be destroyed
by any police officer without capture, and said police officer shall
dispose of the carcass of such animal as directed by the Board of
Health. If such direction results in the transportation of the carcass
of such stray dog or other animal to the state laboratory in Trenton,
a fee of $50 shall be imposed upon the owner of such animal, if known.
Such fee shall be payable to the Township. In all such cases, a full
report thereof shall be immediately made to the Secretary of the Board
of Health by the officer. If the destroyed dog has been licensed in
the Township, the owner shall be notified promptly, either personally
or by mail addressed to his last known address, by the Secretary of
the Board of Health, The Secretary shall also notify the Clerk so
that the licensed dog may be removed from Township records.
It shall be the duty of each police officer
of the Township to assist the Dog Wardens in carrying out the provisions
of this article and the provisions for the control of dogs contained
in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 through 4:19-15.29, as amended and supplemented.
[Amended 2-16-1993 by Ord. No. 1156]
Any owner of a dog found to be running at large
within the Township of Wyckoff shall be subject to a fine not to exceed
$100 for each offense. The violation of any other provisions of this
article shall subject such violator to a fine not to exceed $50 for
each offense.
