[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Bethlehem as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-12-1989 by Ord. No. 11-89 (Ch.
10, Part 5, of the 1988 Code)]
No person shall own, keep or harbor within the
Township any dog six months or older unless such animal is licensed
by the Treasurer of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and unless such
dog wears a collar and license tag. This provision is not intended
to apply to dogs whose owners are nonresidents and temporarily in
the Township nor to any seeing-eye dog or hearing dog properly trained
to assist blind persons or hearing impaired persons when such dog
is actually used by a blind person or hearing impaired person for
the purpose of going from place to place.
It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian
of a dog to keep, harbor or have in his custody or control a dog six
months or older for longer than 14 days, unless such dog has been
vaccinated with a modified live virus (Flury strain) or an acceptable
inactivated rabies vaccine approved by the State Department of Health
within a period of 36 months or vaccinated within a period of 12 months
with a standard rabies vaccine approved by the State Department of
Health.
A.
Permitting dogs to trespass. The owner, possessor
or manager of any dog shall not permit the same to trespass upon the
premises of another property owner without prior permission or he
shall be in violation of this article and shall have the burden of
proving permission to trespass was granted.
B.
At-large dog prohibited.
(1)
No dog shall run at large in the Township. Any person
who is the owner or custodian of a dog found at large in the Township
shall be in violation of this article. It shall be unlawful for any
owner of a dog to place such dog or allow it to be placed in the custody
of any other person not physically capable of maintaining effective
control of such dog.
(2)
No dogs shall be allowed in Township parks.
(3)
It shall be the duty of the police officer to seize
and detain any dog, licensed or unlicensed, found running at large,
either upon the public streets or highways of the Township, or on
the property of another person and unaccompanied by its owner or keeper.
The police are hereby authorized and empowered to go on any public
premises and to enter any public building to seize and detain any
dog which has been running at large unaccompanied by an owner or keeper
when such police officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog.
C.
Cleanup of dog fecal matter. No owner of any dog or
any person having the care, custody and control of any dog shall permit
the same to discharge or deposit any fecal matter upon the property
of another without immediately removing such matter and disposing
of it in a sanitary manner.
It shall be the duty of a police officer charged
with the enforcement of this article to impound any dog found at large
and not confined to the dog owner's premises. If the owner or custodian
of the dog can be ascertained and located, a summons may be issued
and the dog may, in lieu of impoundment, be released to its owner
or custodian.
It shall be the duty of any person who has knowledge
that a dog has bitten or injured any person to immediately report
the facts of the incident and the whereabouts of such dog to the police:
A.
The owner of every such dog shall immediately place
said dog in confinement in such a manner as to prevent it from escaping,
running at large or having physical contact with other dogs or humans
other than the dog owner, and maintain such confinement for a ten-day
period of observation.
B.
At the end of said ten-day observation period, the
dog shall be examined by a veterinarian by the owner, and a written
report of the results of such examination shall be submitted by the
owner or veterinarian within 24 hours to the police department. If
the report reveals no symptoms of rabies, the dog may then be released.
C.
If at any time during the said ten-day period of observation
the dog develops symptoms indicative of rabies, such fact shall be
communicated at once to the police and the dog shall immediately be
removed to a veterinary hospital.
D.
If the dog is diagnosed as rabid it shall be humanely
euthanized. Confirmatory tests for the presence of rabies shall be
conducted on the dog's remains as necessary. After such testing, the
remains of the dog shall be disposed of in such manner as the State
Dog Warden directs.
E.
If the dog is a stray that cannot be identified, it
shall be the duty of the police to impound such dog and place it in
confinement for observation, examination or other necessary action
normally required of a private dog owner.
F.
It shall be the duty of the police to notify the victim
of a dog bite of the results of the ten-day observation period and
veterinary examination of the biting dog in writing following the
receipt of reports of those results.
A.
Notification. The police officer who has seized a
dog under the provisions of this article shall see that the same is
properly kept and fed and if ownership of such dog can be ascertained,
the police shall immediately give notice of such seizure to the owner
to claim such dog.
B.
Reclaiming. The owner of the dog seized and detained
may reclaim the same by:
(1)
Paying all expenses incurred in feeding and boarding
the animal at a prevailing rate established.
C.
Disposition. Any dog seized and detained by the police
which has not been claimed by its owner can be given to the Humane
Society or Northampton County SPCA.
When in the judgment of the police it is determined
at the scene of an accident that a dog is injured beyond any medical
help, such dog may be humanely destroyed.
A.
Feeding. All dogs shall be supplied with sufficient,
wholesome food and water, free from contamination, and which food
and water shall be of sufficient quality and nutritive value to meet
the normal daily requirements for the condition and size of each dog
and to assure the proper health of each dog.
B.
Health of dogs. Proper shelter and protection from
the weather shall be provided at all times to assure that no dog is
exposed to excessive heat or cold. No condition shall be maintained
or permitted to exist that is knowingly injurious to the health of
any dog.
[Added 5-17-1993 by Ord. No. 5-93]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any dog owner, or other person
in possession or control of a dog, to suffer or permit said dog, by
its frequent, continual or habitual barking, howling, screeching,
yelping or baying, to disturb the peace, tranquility, comfort or repose
of any person or the community.
[Amended 5-17-1993 by Ord. No. 5-93]
Any person, firm or corporation shall fail,
neglect or refuse to comply with any of the terms or provisions of
this article or of any regulation or requirement pursuant hereto and
authorized hereby, shall upon conviction thereof be ordered to pay
a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $300 and, in default of
payment of payment of said fine and costs, imprisoned not more than
90 days. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense.
