Article VIII: Vicious and Potentially Dangerous Dogs

The fighting or baiting of a living animal as set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:22-24 and N.J.S.A. 4:22-26.

Any person, corporation, partnership or other association.

Any dog or dog hybrid declared potentially dangerous by a Municipal Court pursuant to Section 8-36, below and N.J.S.A. 4:19-23.

VICIOUS DOG

Any dog or dog hybrid declared vicious by a Municipal Court pursuant to Section 80-35, below and N.J.S.A. 4:19-22.

§ 80-32 Seizure and impoundment of dog by animal control officer; grounds.

An animal control officer shall seize and impound a dog when the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the dog:

Attacked a person and caused death or serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-l(b) to that person;

Caused bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(a) to a person during an unprovoked attack and poses a serious threat of harm to persons or domestic animals;

Engaged in dog fighting activities; or

Has been trained, tormented, badgered, baited or encouraged to engage in unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.

The dog shall be impounded until the final disposition as to whether the dog is vicious or potentially dangerous. Subject to the approval of the Municipal Health Officer, the dog may be impounded in a facility or other structure agreeable to the owner.

§ 80-33 Notice of seizure and impoundment; determination of identity of owner; notice of hearing; return of statement by owner; destruction of dog.

The Animal Control Officer shall notify the Municipal Court and the Municipal Health Officer immediately that he/she has seized and impounded a dog pursuant to Section 80-32 or that he/she has reasonable cause to believe that a dog has killed another domestic animal and that a hearing is required. The Animal Control Officer shall through a reasonable effort attempt to determine the identity of the owner of any dog seized and impounded. Reasonable effort shall mean that if any animal so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or a registration tag, that person will be notified, or the owner or the person keeping or harboring said animal, if known, shall be notified. If the owner cannot be identified within seven (7) days, that dog may be humanely destroyed.

The Animal Control Officer shall, within three (3) working days of the determination of the identity of the owner of a dog seized and impounded pursuant to Section 80-32, above, notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, the owner concerning the seizure and impoundment and that, if the owner wishes, a hearing will be held to determine whether the impounded dog is vicious or potentially dangerous. This notice shall also require that the owner return within seven (7) days, by certified mail or hand delivery, a signed statement indicating whether he/she wishes the hearing to be conducted or, if not, to relinquish ownership of the dog, in which case the dog may be humanely destroyed. If the owner cannot be notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, or refuses to sign for the certified letter, or does not reply to the certified letter with a signed statement within seven (7) days of receipt, the dog may be humanely destroyed. If the dog is so destroyed, any identified owner shall be responsible for the municipality's costs, as set forth in Section 80-38, below.

§ 80-34 Finding to declare dog vicious; grounds.

The Municipal Court shall declare a dog vicious if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dog:

(1)

Killed a person or caused serious bodily injury as deemed by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(b) to a person; or

(2)

Has engaged in dog fighting activities as described in N.J.S.A. 4:22-24 and N.J.S.A. 4:22-26 or in Section 80-31D, above.

A dog shall not be declared vicious for inflicting death or serious bodily injury as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(b) upon a person if the dog was provoked. The municipality shall bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that the dog was not provoked.

If the Municipal Court declares a dog to be vicious, and no appeal is made of this ruling pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-25 or 80-38 below, the dog shall be destroyed in a humane and expeditious manner, except that no dog may be destroyed during the pendency of an appeal.

§ 80-35 Finding to declare dog potentially dangerous.

The Municipal Court shall declare a dog to be potentially dangerous if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dog:

(1)

Caused bodily injury as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(a) to a person during an unprovoked attack, and poses a serious threat of bodily injury or death to a person, or

(2)

Killed another domestic animal, and

(a)

Poses a threat of serious bodily injury or death to a person; or

(b)

Poses a threat of death to another domestic animal, or

(3)

Has been trained, tormented, badgered, baited or encouraged to engage in unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.

A dog shall not be declared potentially dangerous for:

(1)

Causing bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C11-1(a) to a person if the dog was provoked, or

(2)

Killing a domestic animal if the domestic animal was the aggressor.

For the purposes of subsection A(1) of this section, the municipality shall bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that the dog was not provoked.

§ 80-36 Order and schedule for compliance for potentially dangerous dog: conditions.

If the Municipal Court declares the dog to be potentially dangerous, it shall issue an order and a schedule for compliance which, in part:

Shall require the owner to comply with the following

(1)

To apply, at his/her own expense, to the official designated to license dogs, for a special municipal potentially dangerous dog license, municipal registration number, and red identification tag issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-30 and Section 80-42 below. The owner shall, at his own expense, have the registration number tattooed upon the dog in a prominent location. A potentially dangerous dog shall be impounded until the owner obtains a municipal potentially dangerous dog license, municipal registration number, and red identification tag;

(2)

To display, in a conspicuous manner, a sign on his/her premises warning that a potentially dangerous dog is on the premises. The sign shall be visible and legible from fifty (50) feet of the enclosure required pursuant to paragraph A,(3) of this subsection.

(3)

To immediately erect and maintain an enclosure for the potentially dangerous dog on the property where the potentially dangerous dog will be kept and maintained, which has sound sides, top and bottom to prevent the potentially dangerous dog from escaping by climbing, jumping or digging and within a fence of a least six (6) feet in height separated by at least three (3) feet from the confined area. The owner of a potentially dangerous dog shall securely lock the enclosure to prevent the entry of the general public and to preclude any release or escape of a potentially dangerous dog by an unknowing child or other person. All potentially dangerous dogs shall be confined in the enclosure or, if taken out of the enclosure, securely muzzled and restrained with a tether approved by the Animal Control Officer and having a minimum tensile strength sufficiently in excess of that required to restrict the potentially dangerous dog's movements to a radius of no more than three (3) feet from the owner and under the direct supervision of the owner;

May require the owner to maintain liability insurance in an amount determined by the Municipal Court to cover any damage or injury caused by the potentially dangerous dog. The liability insurance, which may be separate from any other homeowner policy, shall contain a provision requiring the municipality in which the owner resides to be named as an additional insured for the sole purpose of being notified by the insurance company of any cancellation, termination or expiration of the liability insurance policy. The limits of liability insurance coverage shall not be less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.) per incident.

§ 80-37 Procedures for appeal.

The owner of the dog, or the Animal Control Officer in the municipality in which the dog was impounded, may appeal any final decision, order or judgment, including any conditions attached thereto, of a Municipal Court pursuant to this Article and N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. by filing an appeal with the Superior Court, Law Division, in accordance with the Rules Governing The Courts of the State of New Jersey pertaining to appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction. The Superior Court shall hear the appeal by conducting a hearing de novo in the manner established by those rules for appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction.

§ 80-38 Liability of owner for costs of impoundment and destruction.

If a dog is declared vicious or potentially dangerous, and all appeals pertaining thereto have been exhausted, or if the dog has been destroyed, as set forth in Section 80-33, above, the owner of the dog shall be liable to the municipality in which the dog is impounded for the costs and expense of impounding and destroying the dog. The municipality may establish by ordinance a schedule of these costs and expenses. The owner shall incur the expense of impounding the dog in a facility other than the municipal pound, regardless of whether the dog is ultimately found to be vicious or potentially dangerous.

§ 80-39 Right to convene hearing for subsequent actions of dog.

If the Municipal Court finds that the dog is not vicious or potentially dangerous, the Municipal Court shall retain the right to convene a hearing to determine whether the dog is vicious or potentially dangerous for any subsequent actions of the dog.

§ 80-40 Duties of owner of potentially dangerous dog.

The owner of a potentially dangerous dog shall:

Comply with the provision of this Article in accordance with a schedule established by the Municipal Court, but in no case more than sixty (60) days subsequent to the date of determination;

Notify the licensing authority, local Police Department and the Animal Control Officer if a potentially dangerous dog is at large, or has attacked a human being or killed a domestic animal;

Notify the licensing authority, local Police Department or force, and the Animal Control Officer within twenty-four (24) hours of the death, sale or donation of a potentially dangerous dog;

Prior to selling or donating the dog, inform the prospective owner in writing that the dog has been declared potentially dangerous;

Upon the sale or donation of the dog to a person residing in a different municipality, notify the State Department of Health and the licensing authority, Police Department or force, and Animal Control Officer of that municipality of the transfer of ownership and the name, address and telephone of the new owner; and

In addition to any license fee required pursuant to law, pay a potentially dangerous dog license fee to the municipality as provided in Section 80-42 below.

§ 80-41 Violations by owner; penalties; enforcement; seizure and impoundment of dog; destruction by order of Court.

The owner of a potentially dangerous dog who is found to have violated this act, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, or to have failed to comply with a Court's order shall be subject to a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.) per day of the violation, and each day's continuance of the violation shall constitute a separate and distinct violation. The Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce this section. An Animal Control Officer is authorized to seize and impound any potentially dangerous dog whose owner fails to comply with the provision of this ordinance, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, or a Court's order. The Municipal Court may order that the dog so seized and impounded be destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner.

§ 80-42 Licensing fee; nontransferable.

Any dog adjudicated to be potentially dangerous by a Municipal Court shall obtain a potentially dangerous dog registration number, red identification tag and license in accordance with Section 80-37, above.

The fee for a potentially dangerous dog registration number, red identification tag and license shall be five hundred dollars ($500.) annually, per dog.