[Adopted 12-30-2009 by Ord. No. 09-25 (Ch. 53 of the 1970 Code)]
A. 
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Runnemede, County of Camden, New Jersey.
CAT
Any cat, male or female.
DOG
Any dog, male or female.
HABITUAL BARKING
The creating of a noise disturbance from a habitual barking, yelping or howling dog continuously for 15 minutes or intermittently for one hour.
KENNEL
Any establishment, location or premises wherein or whereon more than four dogs or cats, or combination thereof, are harbored, kept or maintained, or the business of boarding, selling or breeding dogs or cats for sale is carried on. This shall not apply to the temporary (until weaned) keeping of dogs or cats which have been born to a female dog or cat kept on the same premises. Kennels and breeding of dogs or cats are prohibited in all residential zones.
LEASH
Any rope, chain, strap or other restraining device.
LICENSING AGE
Any dog or cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog or cat, includes every person having a right of property in such dog or cat and every person who has such dog or cat in his keeping.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation or association of persons.
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs or cats for sale are kept and displayed. Pet shops are prohibited in all residential zones.
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
Any dog or dog hybrid declared potentially dangerous by a municipal court pursuant to Section 7 of P.L. 1989, c. 307 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-23).
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs or cats seized either under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
RUNNING AT LARGE
The presence of any dog or cat, whether licensed or not, off the lands and premises of its owner and unrestrained by a leash or otherwise not accompanied by a person who is capable of controlling it.
SHELTER
Shelters where dogs or cats are received, housed, kept, maintained or distributed without charge are prohibited in all residential zones.
VICIOUS DOG
Any dog or dog hybrid declared vicious by a municipal court pursuant to Section 6 of P.L. 1989, c. 307 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-22).
B. 
Word usage. The singular shall include the plural.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat within the Borough of Runnemede, in the County of Camden, without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Borough Clerk upon application by the owner and payment of a prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat in said Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog or cat of licensing age shall, in the month of January of each year, apply for and procure from the office of the Borough Clerk a license and official registration tag for each such dog or cat owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such dog or cat 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 $22.20 for the registration of each spayed or neutered dog or cat and $25.20 for the registration of each unspayed or neutered dog or cat, before January 31 of each calendar year, effective January 1, 2010. A late fee of $20 shall be charged for each license not applied for by March 31 of each calendar year.
B. 
Any person applying for a license and registration tag for a dog determined to be potentially dangerous pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. of the laws of the State of New Jersey shall pay an annual fee of $700.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye dogs" shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
A. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough of Runnemede any dog or cat 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 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 or cat is licensed under another section of this article.
B. 
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed dog or cat, and who 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 or cat, unless such dog or cat is licensed under another section of this article.
A. 
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog or cat for which the license and registration are sought, and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety; also, the name, street and post office address and telephone number of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog or cat.
B. 
The information on said application and said registration number issued for the dog or cat shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Borough Clerk. In addition, the Borough Clerk shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health each month, on forms furnished by said Department. Registration numbers shall be issued by the order of the application.
A. 
No person in the Borough of Runnemede shall own, possess, harbor or have in custody any dog or cat over seven months of age unless such dog or cat has been vaccinated or inoculated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. Such vaccination or inoculation shall consist of an anti-rabies vaccine of standard and accepted quality and formula, the duration of which shall be noted on the vaccination certificate or tag.
B. 
No license or registration tag will be issued unless proof of rabies vaccination or inoculation has been presented to the Borough Clerk.
C. 
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the applications.
The Borough Clerk shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs and cats owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Borough and shall report to the State Department of Health the result thereof.
Any person appointed for that purpose by the governing body of the Borough 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 section:
A. 
Any dog or cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat which said official or his agent has reason to believe is a stray dog or cat.
B. 
Any dog or cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat without a current registration tag on its collar.
Any officer or agent authorized to perform any duty under this article is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog or cat which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog or cat, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog or cat if said owner is present and forbids the same. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized to perform any duty under this article.
It shall be unlawful for any person to own, keep, maintain, harbor, or have in possession any dog which, by frequent or habitual barking, shall cause a nuisance by creating a serious annoyance or disturbance to any individual or to the neighborhood.
[Amended 4-5-2011 by Ord. No. 11-04]
A. 
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog or cat shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park or in any public building or in any other public place within the Borough or upon any private premises outside the premises of the owner.
B. 
Dogs and cats shall be permitted within the confines of Beaver Branch Park during the period when the park is open to the public provided that said dogs and cats be restrained by a leash at all times while within the park.
C. 
Any person owning, possessing, harboring, keeping, walking or in custody or charge of any dog or cat within the confines of Beaver Branch Park shall comply with all other requirements of this chapter, including but not limited to registration, property damage and control and cleanup.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or cat shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, ground or property.
A. 
No person owning, possessing, harboring, keeping, walking or in custody or charge of any dog or cat shall cause, suffer, permit or allow such dog or cat to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park, school ground 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; provided, however, it shall be a complete defense to a violation of this section that such person immediately shall have removed and disposed of all feces and droppings deposited by said dog or cat in a suitable and sanitary manner.
B. 
Any person owning, possessing, harboring, keeping, walking or in custody or charge of any dog or cat shall have in his or her possession appropriate sanitary means to remove immediately any feces and droppings which may be deposited by such dog or cat or in the areas enumerated or described in Subsection A above. Such means shall include, but are not limited to, a scooper, shovel, container, disposal bag, wrapper or other implement.
C. 
Disposal in a suitable and sanitary manner shall include but shall not be limited to taking the removed feces and droppings home in a container, disposal bag or wrapper and placing the same in a trash can or removing the same from the container, bag or wrapper and depositing the same in the sanitary sewer. In no event shall disposal in a suitable and sanitary matter include the placement of unwrapped feces or droppings in a trash can, or the placement or disposal into a storm sewer or the burial of said feces or droppings on or in property or areas enumerated and described in Subsection A above.
D. 
The prohibition contained in this § 82-16 shall not apply to any blind person owning, possessing, harboring, keeping, walking, in custody or charge of, or accompanied by a guide dog or Seeing Eye dog.
No person owning, possessing, harboring, keeping or in custody or charge of any dog or cat shall cause, suffer, permit or allow the accumulation of dog or cat feces or droppings upon his or her property or upon property occupied by him or her to the extent that the odor may be noticeable to any adjoining property owner or owners or that it creates or results in an attraction for vermin breeding or any other public health nuisance to adjoining property owners and neighbors.
Complaints for the violation of §§ 82-16 82-17 of this article may be filed in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Runnemede by any citizen, special officer or member of the Police Department.
A. 
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel or pet shop shall apply to the Borough Clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment, which application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located and the purpose for which it is to be maintained and shall be accomplished by the written approval of the governing body, showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
B. 
All licenses issued for kennels or pet shops shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of June of each year and shall be subject to revocation by the governing body on the recommendation of the State Department of Health or the Mayor of the Borough of Runnemede, for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or the ordinances of the Borough governing the same, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health, or the governing body or as may be required by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.8.
C. 
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs or cats owned by such licensee and kept at such establishments. Such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises. Kennels and breeding of dogs or cats are prohibited in all residential zones.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or fewer dogs or cats shall be $10 and for more than 10 dogs or cats shall be $25. The annual fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
A. 
License fees and other money collected or received under the provisions of this article, except those fees which are forwarded to the State of New Jersey, shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts and shall be used for the following purposes:
(1) 
For collecting, keeping and impounding of dogs or cats liable to seizure under this article.
(2) 
For local prevention and control of rabies.
(3) 
For payment of damage to or losses of poultry and domestic animals, except dogs and cats, caused by an unknown dog or cat.
(4) 
For canvass of licensed dogs and cats as prescribed by the State of New Jersey.
(5) 
For administering the provisions of this article.
(6) 
For providing for dog and cat control in the Borough.
B. 
The registration tag fee of $1.20 for each dog or cat, and all other fees collected in connection with dog or cat licensing and registration, shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by Borough Clerk to the State Department of Health.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the Police Department or Animal Control Officer of the Borough to receive and investigate complaints against dogs, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-1 through 4:19-37.
B. 
The Municipal Court of the Borough of Runnemede is charged with determining whether a dog is vicious or potentially dangerous based on criteria provided by state statute, N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 through 4:19-37. No dog which has been so determined to be a vicious or potentially dangerous dog shall be permitted to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Borough of Runnemede, except while securely muzzled and under leash; and the owner or person harboring any such vicious or potentially dangerous dog who shall suffer or permit such dog to run at large or be upon any street or public place in said Borough while not securely muzzled and under leash shall be guilty of a violation of this article.
A. 
No owner or person in charge shall fail to provide his animals with humane care and treatment, sufficient, good and wholesome food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather and veterinary care, when needed to prevent suffering.
B. 
No person shall beat, cruelly ill-treat, torment, overload, overwork and otherwise abuse any animal or cause or permit any fight between animals or between animals and humans.
C. 
No owner of an animal shall abandon such animal.
A. 
Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of the provisions of this article or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters or pounds to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs and cats within and from such establishments shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty as provided in § 1-15, General penalty, of this Code.
B. 
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, any person who fails to obtain a dog or cat license and registration tag as herein provided shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to one or more of the following: a maximum fine of $2,000, a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or a period of community service of not to exceed 90 days. Any person who violates or fails to comply with any part of § 82-15 or 82-17 shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalty as provided in § 1-15, General penalty, of this Code.
C. 
License denial. Any person found violating or refusing to comply with any part of the provisions of this article, resulting from a complaint filed in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Runnemede, by any citizen, special officer or member of the Police Department, on three or more occasions, shall be denied the issuance of a license to keep or harbor any dog or cat within the Borough of Runnemede, and any dog or cat shall be removed by order of the Municipal Court of the Borough of Runnemede.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).