[Ord. No. 3-61, § 1; Ord. No. 7-2017, § 1 ]
As used in this article:
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, shall mean and
include every person having a right of property in such dog and every
person who has such dog in his keeping. Any person that regularly
feeds, shelters or cares for a dog shall be deemed the owner of that
dog.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
Includes the running or standing of any dog, on any street
or other public or private place, except on the property of the owner
or custodian of the dog, unattended and not under the immediate control
of some responsible person able to control such dog.
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed
without charge.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 2]
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog within the Borough
without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Borough
Clerk or other official designated by the Council upon application
by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall
keep or harbor any dog except in compliance with the provisions of
this article.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 2]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing
age shall in the month of January of each year, and annually thereafter,
apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk or other official designated
by the Council a license and official metal registration tag for each
such dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each dog
a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 4; No. 1-67, § 1; No. 18-79, § 1;
No. 19-98, § 4]
(a)
The person applying for the license and registration tag during the month of January as required by Section 5-3 of this article shall pay a fee for the licensing of each dog and an additional sum for the registration tag of each dog, as set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough, Chapter 2, Section 2-46 of the Revised Ordinances. For each annual renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for an initial license and tag, except that any person who should have procured a license and official metal registration tag pursuant to Section 5-3 of the Revised Ordinances of the Borough of Morris Plains during the month of January, but who failed to do so, shall pay a late fee as set forth in the aforesaid Fee Schedule in addition to the license and registration tag fees, together with any other fines due to summons issued that may be imposed on him for failure to obtain a dog license prior to February 1. Said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each year.
(b)
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing
Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs as hereinabove
provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not
be required to pay any fee therefor.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 5]
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 days after such acquisition
or age attainment.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 5]
(a)
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 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 a license for such dog is not required under Section 5-11.
(b)
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the Borough
any unlicensed dog 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, unless a license for such dog is not required under Section 5-11.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Dogs brought into this state must be accompanied
by a health certificate. See State Sanitary Code, Chapter III, Regulation
1.
Only one license and registration tag shall be required in any
licensing year for any dog owned in New Jersey, and such license and
tag issued by any other municipality of this state shall be accepted
by the Borough as evidence of compliance with Sections 5-3 and 5-4.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: State law requires that the license in
one municipality be accepted in other municipalities. See N.J.S.A.
4:19-15.3.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 3]
(a)
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.
(b)
No licensed dog shall be allowed off the premises of the person harboring
or keeping the dog, without the metal registration tag attached to
its harness or collar.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 6]
(a)
The application shall state: the breed, sex, age, color and markings
of the dog for which license and registration are sought; whether
it is of a long-or short-haired variety; and the name, street and
post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or
harbor such dog.
(b)
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 or other official designated by the Council. Registration
numbers shall be issued in the order of the applications.
(c)
The Borough Clerk or other official designated by the Council shall
forward to the State Department of Health each month, on forms furnished
by the said Department, an accurate account of registration numbers
issued or otherwise disposed of.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 7]
No person who has not secured a license for a kennel, pet shop,
shelter or pound shall keep or harbor more than three dogs at one
time, puppies under four months old excepted. This provision shall
not apply to persons who on April 13, 1961 were lawfully harboring
dogs in excess of the limit herein set forth, provided that such owners
did not thereafter acquire or harbor additional dogs in excess of
said limit, and further provided that the harboring of such dogs does
not create a nuisance.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 8]
(a)
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel,
a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the Borough Clerk
or other official designated to license dogs for a license entitling
him to keep or operate such establishment. All licenses issued for
such establishments shall state the purpose for which the establishment
is maintained, shall expire on the last day of January of each year
and shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
(b)
Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual
licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishments.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 8]
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment
for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound is located or is proposed
to be located, the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained
and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Zoning Officer
and the Borough Board of Health showing compliance with the local
and state rules and regulations governing the location of and sanitation
at such establishments.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 8]
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound
shall be subject to revocation by the Borough on recommendation of
the State Department of Health or the Borough Board of Health for
failure to comply with the applicable provisions of this article,
or the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health, or
of the Borough Board of Health governing the same, after the licensee
has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health
or the Borough Board of Health.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 9; 19-98, § 5]
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or less dogs, a kennel providing accommodations for more than 10 dogs and for a pet shop shall be as set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough, Chapter 2, Section 246 of the Revised Ordinances. No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 10]
The Borough Clerk or other official designated to license dogs
in the Borough shall forward to the State Department of Health a list
of all kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds licensed, within 30
days after the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include
the name and address of the licensee and the kind of license issued.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 11]
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be
permitted off such premises, except on leash or in a crate or under
other safe control.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 12; No. 19-98, § 6]
(a)
License or other moneys collected under the provisions hereof, except
those paid to the state, shall be turned over to the Treasurer within
30 days of collection. The fees collected shall be accounted for and
spent in accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.11, as amended.
(b)
The registration tag fee for each dog shall be forwarded within 30
days after collection by the Borough Clerk, or other official designated
to license dogs in the Borough.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 13; No. 18-96, § 2]
The Chief of Police or such other person appointed for the purpose
by the Council shall biennially cause a canvass to be made of all
dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the Borough. He
shall report on or before September 1 of the year in which the census
is taken, to the Borough Clerk or other official designated to license
dogs in the Borough, to the Borough Board of Health and to the State
Department of Health the result thereof, setting forth in separate
columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring
such dogs, the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by
each of said persons, together with the registration numbers of each
of said dogs, and the number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored
by each of said persons, together with a complete description of each
said unlicensed dog.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 14; Ord. No. 20-84, § 1; Ord. No. 7-2017, §§ 2, 3]
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit, suffer
or allow said dog to:
(a)
Run at large within the limits of the Borough;
(b)
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;
(c)
Cause any injury to any person;
(d)
Do any damage to any shrub, tree or other property in any street,
park or other public place in the Borough; provided, however, that
any dog on a leash may deposit urine or feces between the curblines
on the roadway of any public street, provided that:
(1)
The person in charge of said dog shall have in his possession appropriate
sanitary means, including but not limited to implements and plastic
bags, to remove any feces so deposited.
(2)
The person in charge of said dog shall immediately remove all feces
so deposited by appropriate sanitary means, including but not limited
to implements and plastic bags, and shall dispose of such feces in
a sanitary manner.
(3)
No blind person in charge of a guide dog shall be subject to the
provisions of Paragraph (d)(1) and (2) of this section.
(e)
Soil or defile or commit any nuisance upon any sidewalk, pedestrian
street crossing, school yard or municipal playground;
(f)
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, Subsection (8), and
a nuisance;
(g)
Interfere with the enjoyment of any public or private property, which
shall be deemed a nuisance, or to create a condition hazardous to
public health, safety or welfare.
(h)
Cause damage or destruction of private or public property, or injury
to any person or other domestic animal, or create a threat to public
health, safety or welfare, or cause damage to any lawn, shrubbery,
flowers, grounds, trees or other real or personal property, including,
but not limited to, depositing any urine or feces thereon, or otherwise
interfering with the enjoyment of real or personal property.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 15]
(a)
The Mayor, with the consent of the Council, is hereby empowered to
appoint a Poundmaster, Dog Warden or Dog Catcher, or he may designate
some authority 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
Dog Warden or Poundmaster and to enforce this article.
(c)
All police officers of the Borough, regular and special, are hereby
given full power and authority and are charged with the duty to enforce
this article.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 17]
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any
duty under this article is hereby authorized to go upon any premises
to seize for impounding any dog or dogs which he may lawfully seize
and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog
or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if said
owner is present and forbids the same.
[Ord. No. 3-61, §§ 16, 18]
(a)
The Poundmaster, Dog Warden or Dog Catcher, or other designated authority,
or any police officer 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 hereafter 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 Section 5-19 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 which the Dog Warden or any of the other persons
charged with the enforcement of this article believes to be a stray
dog.
(3)
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or
harboring said dog without a current registration tag on his collar.
(4)
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the
person keeping or harboring said dog, except when on leash and in
control of a responsible person capable of maintaining such control.
(5)
Any dog on the premises of the owner which gives evidence of being
mad and vicious or dangerous to public health and safety.
(6)
Any dog which the owner or persons keeping or harboring said dog
wishes to dispose of and to which he renounces ownership, custody
and control, in writing.
(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 said dog is known,
the Poundmaster, Dog Warden or Dog Catcher, or any other official
charged with the enforcement of this article, or any person authorized
by them on their behalf 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
if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
(c)
A notice under Paragraph (b) of 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 mail 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 in this section, or has
been detained for seven days after seizure, when notice has not been
and cannot be given as above set forth in this section, 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, and,
if the dog be unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner
or person keeping or harboring said dog has not produced a license
and registration tag for said dog, the Poundmaster, Dog Warden or
other designated authority, or any person authorized by them in their
behalf, may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner causing as little
pain as possible.
(e)
When any dog shall be delivered under Subparagraph (a)(6) of this
section, no notice to the owner shall be required, unless the person
delivering the said dog is someone other than the owner, in which
event the foregoing procedure shall be followed; if the person delivering
the said dog is the owner, the Dog Warden or any person so authorized
may forthwith destroy the dog in a manner causing as little pain as
possible.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 19; No. 19-98, § 7]
(a)
There shall be charged to the owner or person keeping or harboring each dog which is impounded, pursuant to Section 5-22(a)(1) to (a)(5) hereof, a fee for picking up each dog plus a per day maintenance fee for each day, or part thereof, that the dog has been impounded as set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Borough, Chapter 2, Section 246, which fees shall be paid when the dog is released.
(b)
No impounded dog may be claimed unless a license and registration
tag can be produced for said dog.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 20]
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 21]
No licensing provision of this article shall be construed to
apply to any establishment wherein or whereon dogs are received or
kept for diagnostic, medical, surgical or other treatments, owned
by and operated under the immediate supervision of a graduate veterinarian
licensed in the state of New Jersey.
[Ord. No. 3-61, § 23; Ord. No. 7-2018, §§ 1, 2]
(a)
Any person who violates or fails or refuses to comply with Sections
5-2, 5-3, 5-5, 5-6, 5-8, 5-11 or 5-16 of this Article 1 shall be liable
for a penalty of not less than $50 for each offense, to be recovered
in the name of the Borough.
(b)
For violation of any other provision in this Article 1, the penalty
shall be a fine of not more than $2,000, or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community service not exceeding
90 days, provided that the minimum penalty shall be $100.
