[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Robinson as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-12-2001 by Ord. No. 3-2001]
A. 
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Dog Ordinance of the Township of Robinson."
B. 
The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the Township as pertains to nuisances and/or problems from dogs running at large, excessive barking of dogs and the accumulation of animal excreta.
For the purpose of this article, certain terms and words shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
A. 
Words used in the present tense shall include the future.
B. 
Words used in the singular shall include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular.
C. 
The word "person" includes a corporation, as well as an individual or any other legal entity.
D. 
The word "shall" is always mandatory.
E. 
The word "owner" includes but is not limited to the present possessor of the subject animal, as well as and/or in conjunction with the registered or titled owner of the animal.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog or any other person responsible to said owner, whether the dog bears a proper license tag or not, to permit such dog to run at large upon the outdoor area of any public or private property in Robinson Township.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to confine a dog in an open-air enclosure, including a fenced yard or on a tether or related fixture, where the dog's barking may disturb the quiet of the neighborhood after 10:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m. prevailing time. Said dog shall be confined within a relatively soundproof building with closed doors and windows during those hours so that any barking will not annoy, disturb, injure or endanger the comfort, repose, peace or safety of any individual in the Township.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any owner or persons responsible to said owner to permit the continual barking of any dog or dogs at any times. "Continual barking" shall mean the barking of any dog wherein the barking is repeated on more than three occasions during any ten-minute period.
It shall be unlawful for any person owning, keeping or walking any dog to permit his or her dog to discharge such animal's excreta upon any public or private property within the Township, other than the property of the owner of such dog, if such person does not immediately thereafter remove and clean up such animal's excreta from the public or private property.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog to permit the accumulation of excreta from such dog in a pen or enclosure, including a yard, or at any place within Robinson Township where such accumulation creates a threat to the health of any person or the odor therefrom pollutes the air inhaled by any neighbor or other person.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this article. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
[Adopted 8-10-2015 by Ord. No. 6-2015]
This article shall be known as the "Robinson Township Stray and Feral Cat Ordinance."
For the purpose of this article, the words and phrases set forth in this section shall be construed as defined herein:
AT LARGE
Any cat when it is off the property of its owner and not restrained by a competent person.
CAT
A member of the species Felis catus.
FERAL CAT
Any homeless, wild or untamed cat.
IMPOUND
To apprehend, catch, trap, or net any cat by the Animal Control Officer or authorized local agency.
OWNER
Any person, group of persons, firms or corporation owning, keeping or harboring a cat or cats.
STRAY CAT
Any cat whose owner or keeper from time to time allows the cat to run free off the property of the owner or keeper.
Individuals who feed and/or maintain shelter for feral cats shall be considered the animal's owner and responsible for all required immunizations, as well as spaying/neutering of such feral cat, in addition to other municipal ordinances, including fines and penalties that govern the activities of animals that are considered pets.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of any cat to permit such cat to run free outside the residence of its owner or keeper unless said cat has been:
A. 
Neutered or spayed to prevent it from procreating;
B. 
Immunized against rabies in compliance with Pennsylvania law; and
C. 
Appropriately "tipped" on the left ear to signify that it has been neutered/spayed and immunized.
It shall be unlawful for any person to feed feral cats if such feeding causes a nuisance to neighbors or creates a condition contrary to the health, safety, and welfare of the community.
The keeping of any cats in such a manner so as to create offensive odors, excessive noise or to cause any unhealthy condition, interfere with the normal use and enjoyment of human or animal life, or interfere with the normal use and enjoyment of the properties surrounding the property on which the cats are kept shall be declared to be a public nuisance and, as such, be unlawful.
A. 
It shall be the duty of every Animal Control Officer or authorized agency to seize, detain and impound any cat which is running at large either upon the public streets, highways, alleys or public grounds.
B. 
The removal of any cat which is running at large on private property shall be the responsibility of the private property owner and not the Township.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this article. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
The provisions of this article are declared to be severable, and if any provision of this article shall for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the article as a whole or any other part or part thereof.
Any and all ordinances and/or resolutions, or parts thereof, conflicted herewith are repealed insofar as the matters herein are affected.