Village of Ridgefield Park, NJ Article II Dogs

[Adopted 4-25-1972 (Ch. 77, Art. II, of the 1985 Code)]

§ 123-5 Running at large prohibited.

[Amended 12-23-1997 by Ord. No. 97-13]

A. No person owning or keeping any dog or dogs shall permit any dog or dogs to be present at any time in any public park within the Village of Ridgefield Park which is owned or operated by the Village.

B. No person owning or keeping any dog or dogs shall permit the dog or dogs to run at large in any other public place within the Village. All dogs must be on a leash no more than six feet in length.

§ 123-6 Barking dogs.

[Amended 10-27-2009 by Ord. No. 09-11]

No person shall keep in the Village any dog which habitually barks or cries between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. "Habitually" shall mean frequent barking, howling, whining or crying which disturbs the peace, comfort or quiet of the neighborhood, thereby creating or maintaining a nuisance.

§ 123-7 Dogs injuring property of another.

No person owning or keeping a dog shall permit it to do any injury or damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property of another.

§ 123-8 Impounding dogs; maintenance; disposition.

A. The Animal Control Officer 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:

(1) Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring such dog which the Animal Control Officer or his agent has reason to believe is a stray dog.

(2) Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring such 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 such dog.

(4) Any dog or other animal which is suspected to be rabid.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

(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 and welfare or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

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 the owner or the person keeping or harboring such dog is known, the Animal Control Officer shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring such 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 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. 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 such dog has not claimed such dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance not exceeding $4 per day, and if the dog is unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring such dog has not produced a license and registration tag for such dog, the Animal Control Officer may cause the dog to be offered for adoption or destroyed.

[Amended 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. 85-6[3][4]]

[3] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

[4] Editor's Note: Original § 77-7, Enforcement of article and statutory provisions, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 06-15.

§ 123-9 Violations and penalties.

A. Any person who refuses to comply with the provisions of §§ 123-10 to 123-13 or with N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 to 4:19-15.29 shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, to be recovered in the name of the Village. Any person who refuses or neglects to pay forthwith the amount of the judgment rendered against him and the costs and charges incident thereto shall be committed by the court to the county jail for a period not exceeding 10 days in the case of a first conviction and, in the case of a conviction for a second, subsequent or continuing violation, for a period not exceeding 30 days.

B. Any person who violates or refuses to comply with § 123-5, 123-6 or 123-7 shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty.

[Amended 12-23-1997 by Ord. No. 97-13[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 123-10 License required.

[Amended 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 06-15]

A. All dogs must have a license number displayed. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall apply for and procure from the Village Clerk a license and official registration tag with a license number for each dog owned, kept or harbored, and shall place upon such dog a collar or other device with the license number securely fastened or displayed thereto. Acceptable methods of displaying license numbers shall include, but are not limited to, breakaway or elastic collars. Neither licenses nor registration tags are transferable.

B. Time for applying for license. A dog which has attained the age of seven months or possesses a set of permanent teeth shall be licensed by the owner or any person who has the dog in keeping. The owner of a newly acquired dog shall apply for a license within 10 days after acquisition. Application for a license shall be made annually to the Village Clerk or to a municipal officer or employee designated by the Board of Commissioners. The license and registration tag shall expire December 31 of the year stated on the license, and the application for a license and registration tag, or renewal thereof, shall be made no later than on that date.

C. Dogs brought into this jurisdiction. A person who brings into this Village a dog licensed by another state for the current year and keeps the dog in this Village for more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and receive a registration tag for such dog. An unlicensed dog brought into this Village from another state and remaining for more than 10 days shall be licensed immediately.

D. Application; contents; preservation of information. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which license is sought; the date on which such dog was last vaccinated against rabies and the expiration date of such vaccination; the name, state, post office address and telephone number of the owner, the person who shall keep or harbor such dog and any tattoo which shall be used to uniquely identity the dog. The information on said application and the license number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Village Department of Health or other official designated to license dogs.

E. License forms and tags. License forms and registration tags shall be furnished by the Village and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the Village of Ridgefield Park.

F. Evidence of inoculation with rabies vaccine or certification of exemption; requirement for license. The Village Clerk shall not grant such license and registration tag for any dog unless the owner thereof provides evidence that the dog to be licensed has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the United States Department of Human Services or has been certified as exempt, as provided by § 123-13C of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same.

G. Renewals; expiration of license.

(1) If the person applying for a license and registration tag presents a valid license from another municipality that has not yet expired, that license shall be accepted by the Village, and no fee shall be charged to the person applying for that license and registration tag.

(2) Only one license and registration tag shall be required in the licensing year for any dog in the Village. Any valid New Jersey license tag issued by a New Jersey municipality shall be accepted by the Village as evidence of compliance.

H. Loss of license. If a license or registration tag has been misplaced or lost, the Village may issue a duplicate license or registration tag for that particular dog for a fee of $5.

I. Proof of licensing. Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a dog, upon request by any health official, police officer, animal control officer or other authorized person.

J. Interfering with persons performing duties under this article. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.

K. Disposition of fees collected. License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this article, together with all license fees and moneys collected or received under the provisions of Article III, shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Village and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Village and shall be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure, for local prevention and control of rabies, for providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of the Village's Department of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies and for administering the provisions of this article. Any unexpected balance remaining in such special account shall be retained 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 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 Village any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next proceeding.

§ 123-11 Number of dogs per household.

[Amended 1-22-1974; 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. 85-6; 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 06-15]

A. No household shall own, keep or harbor more than three dogs.

B. No household shall be entitled to apply for more than three licenses in order to license dogs under this article, except for instances covered under Subsection C below.

C. A family shall include all residents using a particular premises, related or not related, who are considered as either the owner of the premises or a tenant paying rent to a landlord. Under no circumstances shall there be more than six dogs licensed to one premises which is a two-, three- or four-family dwelling or three dogs per apartment, condominium or co-op unit.

§ 123-12 Fees for license and registration tag.

[Amended 10-27-1981 by Ord. No. 15-81; 12-23-1995 by Ord. No. 97-13]

A. The annual fee for a dog license and renewal thereof shall be $9 for a neutered dog and $14 for a nonneutered dog. In addition, there shall be a fee of $1 for registration with the New Jersey Department of Health, for a total of $10 for a neutered dog and $15 for a nonneutered dog.

[Amended 11-27-2007 by Ord. No. 07-10]

B. In the event that a dog license is not obtained by April 30th of each year or within 30 days of the dog reaching the age of seven months or the dog possessing a set of permanent teeth or within 90 days of the date the dog resides in the Village of Ridgefield Park, there shall be a late penalty fee of $10 in addition to the initial licensing fee for each dog.

[Amended 11-27-2007 by Ord. No. 07-10]

C. Upon payment of the required license fee and the fee for obtaining a registration tag, plus any additional fees imposed by statute, the Village Clerk or other duly authorized municipal officer or employee shall issue a dog license and a registration tag.

[Added 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 06-15]

§ 123-13 Rabies vaccination.

[Amended 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. 85-6; 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 06-15]

A. Vaccination and license requirements. No person shall be the owner of a dog of licensing age within the Village unless such dog is licensed and has a valid vaccination certificate indicating an expiration date occurring in the future. The provisions of this section do not apply to dogs held in a veterinary establishment or licensed animal shelters, pounds, kennels or pet shops, where dogs are received or kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments.

B. Vaccination certificate. A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each dog which has been administered a vaccination in a form recommended by the state.

C. Exemptions. Any dog may be exempted from the requirements of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the Village Clerk, or other duly authorized agent of the Village, upon presentation of a veterinarian's certification stating that because of an infirmity or other physical condition, or regimen of therapy, the vaccination of such dog shall be deemed inadvisable.