[Amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
The definitions in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 shall apply in this article.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Harrington Park as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-21-1969 by Ord. No. 230 (Ch. 14 of the 1967 Code)]
[Amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
The following regulations are hereby established for keeping dogs in the Borough pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq. and the amendments and supplements thereto.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall, in the month of January of each year, apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[Last amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
A.
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a license fee of $13.20 for a neutered or spayed dog, a license fee of $16.20 for a dog which is not neutered or spayed, the sum of $1 for the registration of each dog, and the sum of $0.20 for a pilot clinic fee. For each annual renewal, the same fee for the license and registration tag as for the original license and tag shall be paid. Said licenses, registration tags and renewals shall expire on the last day of December of each year. (All licenses are subject to renewal during January of each year, and rabies vaccination is compulsory.)
[Amended 6-19-2012 by Ord. No. 672[1]]
B.
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 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.
License forms and uniform official metal registration tags designed by the State Department of Health shall be issued and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the Borough.
A.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which attains the licensing age, as provided for in this article, shall make application for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. Said application shall state the breed, sex (and if a female, whether it is spayed or unspayed), 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 and street and post office address 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 Borough Clerk. In addition, the Borough Clerk shall forward to the State Department of Health each month, on forms furnished by said Department, an accurate account of registration numbers issued or otherwise disposed of. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order of application.
B.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any dog licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag, and 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 is licensed under this article.
C.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough any unlicensed dog of licensing age, and 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 unless such dog is licensed under 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 pet shop in the Borough shall apply to the Borough Clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment. Such 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 the written approval of the Board of Health of the Borough showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
B.
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.
C.
No dog kept in a pet shop shall be permitted off such premises except on leash or in a crate or other safe control.
All licenses issued for a pet shop shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of January of each year and be subject to revocation by the municipality, on recommendation of the State Department of Health or Board of Health of the Borough, for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or Board of Health of the Borough, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the state department or local board.
The Chief of Police of the Borough or such other person appointed for the purpose by the governing body of said Borough shall cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Borough and shall report, on or before May 1 of each year, to the Borough Clerk and to the Board of Health of the Borough and to the State Department of Health the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs and 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.
A.
No person shall own, operate or maintain a kennel.
B.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit, suffer or allow, with or without that person's actual knowledge, said dog to do the following things:
(1)
Run at large within the limits of the Borough.
(2)
Be off the premises of such owner or person so harboring said dog, or upon a street or other public place in the Borough, except when restrained by a leash or when otherwise under the strict control of some responsible person able to control said dog.
(3)
Cause any injury to any person.
(4)
Do any damage to any shrub, tree or other property in any street, park or other public place in the Borough or upon the private property of others.
(5)
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 areas, park or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any private property without the permission of the owner of said property. The restriction in this subsection shall not apply to that portion of the street lying between the curblines, which shall be used to curb such dog under the following conditions:
[Amended 12-20-1976 by Ord. No. 284]
(a)
The person who so curbs such dog shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method.
(b)
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be disposed of in a sanitary manner by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(6)
Habitually bark, howl or cry. The habitual barking, howling or crying of a dog or dogs in the Borough is hereby declared to be a disturbing noise, within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:48-1(8), and a nuisance.
(7)
Be or become a public nuisance or create a condition hazardous to safety and health.
A.
The Mayor of the Borough, with the consent of the Council, is hereby empowered to appoint an Animal Control Officer to enforce the provisions of this article.
B.
The Council may by resolution enter into a contract with any humane society, animal shelter or similar association or with one or more persons, either individual or corporate, to exercise the duties of Animal Control Officer and to enforce the provisions of this article.
C.
All members of the Police Department of the Borough, regular and special, are hereby given full power and authority and are charged with the duty to enforce the provisions of this article.
A.
The Animal Control Officer of the Borough or, if said Animal Control Officer has not been directly appointed by the governing body or is incapacitated, then the Chief of Police of the Borough or any member of the Police Department or the designated agent of any humane society or animal shelter appointed for the purpose by the governing body shall take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroy or dispose of, as provided in this section:
(1)
Any dog running at large, or any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog, contrary to any of the provisions of § 104-12 of this article, or which is committing a nuisance or doing any injury or damage in violation thereof.
(2)
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog, without a current registration tag on its collar.
B.
If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon the name and address of any person, or a registration tag, or if the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog is known, the aforesaid Animal Control Officer of the Borough or, if said Animal Control Officer has not been directly appointed by the governing body or is incapacitated, then the Chief of Police of the Borough or any member of the Police Department or the designated agent of any humane society or animal shelter appointed 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 dog, if known, a notice, in writing, stating that the dog has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed or offered for adoption if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
[Amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
C.
A notice under this section may be served either by delivering it personally to the person on whom it is to be served or by leaving it at said person's dwelling house or usual place of abode with some competent member of said person's family of the age of 14 years or over then residing therein, or by mailing, registered mail, return receipt requested, said notice to said person at said person's dwelling house or usual place of abode.
D.
If any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, where notice was given as set forth above, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, where the identity of the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog is not known and is not reasonably ascertainable, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring said dog has not claimed said 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 person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the aforesaid Animal Control Officer of the Borough or, if said Animal Control Officer has not been directly appointed by the governing body or is incapacitated, then the Chief of Police of the Borough or any member of the Police Department or the designated agent of any humane society appointed by the governing body shall either place the dog with a responsible new owner or give it to a humane society for placement in a new home or may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible. Under no circumstances shall such dog be released to a dog dealer unless such dealer holds a valid license issued by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under and pursuant to the terms of Public Law 89-544, 7 U.S.C.A. § 2131 et seq., or any amendments thereof. Under no circumstances shall such dog be released to a research facility unless such research facility is registered with the United States Secretary of Agriculture under and pursuant to Public Law 89-544, 7 U.S.C.A. § 2131 et seq., or any amendments thereof, and unless such dog is released to such research facility by a person holding a valid license as a dealer issued by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under and pursuant to the terms of Public Law 89-544, 7 U.S.C.A. § 2131 et seq., or any amendments thereof.
[Amended 4-18-2011 by Ord. No. 658]
The Board of Health of the Borough shall enforce the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of pet shops, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments. The provisions of this article or of the statute referred to herein shall be enforced by the Animal Control Officer of the Borough or Board of Health of the Borough or its designated agent or the Chief of Police of the Borough or any member of the Police Department or by the designated agent of any humane society or animal shelter under contract with the municipality for the enforcement of this article or provisions of said statute. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
[Amended 7-18-2005 by Ord. No. 584]
A.
Any person who violates any provisions of this article or who fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of the statute referred to herein or any rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health pursuant to said statute shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500, the exact amount to be determined by the Municipal Court Judge.
No provision of this article shall be construed as giving any authority for the compulsory inoculation of dogs with anti-rabic vaccines.