[Adopted 5-7-1979 by Ord. No. 304]
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
As used in this article, unless the context
otherwise indicates, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Off the premises of the owner and not under control either
by leash, cord or chain.
A dog:
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right of property in that dog and every person who
has that dog in his/her keeping, and when applied to the proprietorship
of any other animal, including but not limited to a cat, shall include
every person having a right of property in that animal and every person
who has that animal in his/her keeping.
Any place of business which is not part of a kennel, wherein
animals, including but not limited to dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles,
rabbits, hamsters or gerbils, are kept or displayed chiefly for the
purpose of sale to individuals for personal appreciation and companionship
rather than for business or research purposes.
An establishment for the confinement of dogs or other animals
seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Any establishment where dogs or other animals are received,
housed and distributed.
[Amended 9-8-1981 by Ord. No. 334; 9-6-1983 by Ord. No.
360; 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14; 4-5-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-5[1]]
A.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age
or of any dog which attains licensing age shall make application for
license and registration tag for such dog within 10 business days
after such acquisition or age attainment. Dog licenses shall be issued
by the Borough Clerk upon payment of a license fee for each dog, plus
a charge for each registration tag, plus a surcharge for a Pilot Clinic
Fund as required by the State of New Jersey Department of Health to
provide funding for a pilot low-cost spay/neuter clinic for dogs and
cats. In addition to the above license fees, there shall be a payment
required for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive
capacity permanently altered through sterilization for an Animal Population
Control Fund as required by the State of New Jersey Department of
Health. The owner shall state at the time application is made for
such license and upon printed forms provided for such purpose, his/her
name, address and telephone number and the name, breed, color and
sex of each dog owned or kept by him/her and shall present proof of
compliance with all other ordinances and regulations relating to dogs.
Dogs whose owners are nonresidents (temporarily within the Borough),
dogs brought into the Borough for the purpose of participating in
any dog show, dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known
as "Seein Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly
known as "service dogs" or 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.
B.
Licenses
shall expire on December 31 and shall be renewed annually, subject
to the same fees, charges and surcharges as for initial licensure.
[Amended 2-2-1981 by Ord. No. 326]
Any person who shall bring into the Borough
of Pennington any dog licensed in another state for the current year,
shall, within 90 days thereafter, apply for a license and registration
tag for each dog, unless such dog is duly licensed under any other
ordinance adopted by the Borough of Pennington.
Upon payment of the license fee, the Clerk shall
issue to the owner a license certificate and a metallic registration
tag for each dog so licensed. The tag shall have stamped thereon the
year for which it was issued and the number corresponding with the
number on the certificate. Every owner shall be required to provide
each dog with a collar to which the license tag must be affixed and
shall see that the collar and tag are constantly worn. In case a tag
is lost or destroyed, a new tag will be issued by the Clerk, upon
presentation of a receipt showing the payment of the license fee for
the current year and the payment of $0.50 for each replacement tag.
Tags shall not be transferable from one dog to another, and no refunds
shall be made on any dog license fee because of death of the dog or
the owner's leaving the Borough before expiration of the license period.
A.
No person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring
a dog shall permit, suffer or allow said dog to:
(1)
Run at large upon any of the public streets or roads
or upon any private property, except upon premises where permission
has been given by the owner, unless the dog is accompanied by some
responsible person able to control said dog and is securely confined
and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
(2)
Bark, cry, whine, howl or otherwise disturb the peace
or quiet of the neighborhood or sleep of any person for any unreasonable
length of time.
(3)
Cause any injury or continued apprehension to any
person.
(4)
Do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds
or other property or run through or cross any cultivated gardens or
fields.
(5)
Be or become a public nuisance or to create a condition
hazardous to safety and health.
B.
The habitual barking, howling, whining or crying of
a dog or dogs in the Borough of Pennington is hereby declared to be
a disturbing noise within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:48-1(8) and a
nuisance.
C.
The owner of a female dog in season shall confine
such dog in a kennel or other enclosure in such manner as to prevent
its being a neighborhood annoyance and so to isolate such dog from
access by male dogs.
D.
Any person who owns, keeps, feeds or harbors any dog
at any place within the Borough shall exercise sufficient and proper
care and control over such animal at all times so as to prevent the
dog from becoming a public nuisance.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer
or other Municipal Official so designated to apprehend any dog found
running at large contrary to the provisions of this article, or any
dog becoming a public nuisance and to impound such dog in the Borough
animal pound or other suitable place. The Animal Control Officer upon
receiving any dog shall make a complete registry, entering the breed,
color and sex of such dog and whether licensed. If licensed, the Animal
Control Officer shall enter the name and address of the owner and
the license tag number. The provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16 shall
apply in the impounding or taking dogs into custody. [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 7, Notice to Owner
and Redemption, which immediately followed this section was deleted
12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
The Borough Council shall appoint at the first
meeting of each year an Animal Control Officer at a compensation to
be established in the Annual Salary Ordinance.
It shall be the duty of the Borough of Pennington
to keep all dogs so impounded for a period of seven days. If at the
expiration of seven days from the date of notice to the owner or the
posting of notice, such dog shall not have been redeemed, it may be
destroyed. Any dog which appears to be suffering from rabies or infected
with hyrophobia, mange or other infectious or dangerous disease shall
not be released but shall be destroyed with just cause presented by
the veterinarian.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 10, Rabies Control;
Section 11, Vicious Dogs, Section 12, Confinement of Certain Dogs;
Section 13, Muzzling, which immediately followed this section, were
deleted 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14.
A.
Whenever any person is bitten by a dog, the owner
or person in charge of the animal shall immediately secure the same
and keep it alive and confined until receipt of a notice or order
from the local Board of Health.
B.
Whenever any person is bitten by any animal or dog
suspected of having rabies, the owner or person in charge, the victim
or his/her guardian, the physician attending and any person having
knowledge of the occurrence shall forthwith make a report to the local
Board of Health or to the Police Department and shall comply in all
respects with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
A.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish
a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the Borough Clerk
for a license entitling him/her to keep or operate such establishment.
B.
The application shall describe the premises where
the establishment is located or is proposed to 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 Borough Board of Health
showing compliance with borough and state rules and regulations governing
location of and sanitation of such establishment.
C.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter
or pound shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained,
and all such license shall expire on the last day of January of each
year and be subject to revocation by the Borough of Pennington on
recommendations of the State Department of Health or the Borough Board
of Health, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the
State Department of Health or the Borough of Pennington. Any person
holding such licenses shall not be required to secure individual licenses
for dogs owned by such licensees and kept at such establishments;
such licenses shall not be transferred to another owner or different
premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing
accommodations for 10 or fewer dogs shall be $10 and for more than
10 dogs $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No
fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees,
shall be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Borough of Pennington within
48 hours after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special
account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough of
Pennington and shall be used for the following purposes only: for
collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under
this article; for prevention and control of rabies; for providing
antirabie treatment under the direction of the Board of Health for
any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; for
payment of damages to or loses of poultry and domestic animals, except
dogs and cats, caused by a dog or dogs; and for administering the
provisions of this article. The Clerk shall be reimbursed from fees
collected or in an amount to be determined from time to time by ordinance
of Borough Council.
B.
Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account
shall be retained therein 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 the 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 borough any amount then
in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into such
special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
C.
The registration tag fee of $0.50 for each dog shall
be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Borough Clerk
to the State Department of Health.
[Amended 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
Except as otherwise provided by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1
et seq., any person who violates any provision of this article shall,
upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000, a term
of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service
not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof.
