Relevant statutory provisions are found in R.S. 4:19-15.1,
et seq.
As used in this chapter:
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 except a pet shop wherein or whereon the
business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is
carried on.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, shall include
any person having a right of property in such dog and any person who
has such dog in his keeping.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
Any dog found by the municipal court to have met any of the
conditions listed in N.J. State Statute N.J.S.A. 4:19-23.
[Added 11-19-2018 by Ord.
No. 824-18]
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either
under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed
without charge.
Any dog found by the municipal court to have met any of the
conditions listed in N.J. State Statute N.J.S.A. 4:19-22.
[Added 11-19-2018 by Ord.
No. 824-18]
No person shall keep or harbor any dog within the borough without
first obtaining a license therefor, which license shall be issued
by the borough clerk upon application by the owner and payment of
the prescribed fee. No person shall keep or harbor any dog in the
borough except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
Any person who owns, keeps or harbors a dog of licensing age
shall annually, in the month of January, apply for and procure from
the borough clerk a license and official metal registration tag for
each dog owned, kept or harbored, and shall place upon each dog a
collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
a.
The following fees shall be charged for the licensing and registration
of dogs: six dollars and eighty ($6.80) cents; pursuant to Ordinance
No. 710-11, the fee shall be ten dollars and eighty ($10.80) cents
effective January 1, 2012, for a dog license or seven hundred ($700.00)
dollars for a potentially dangerous dog license; together with one
($1.00) dollar for a registration tag for each dog to be registered
and twenty ($.20) cents for the New Jersey Pilot Clinic Fund. In the
event the dog to be registered has not been spayed or neutered as
evidenced by a veterinarian's certification, there shall be an additional
surcharge of three ($3.00) dollars for the licensing of said dog.
Registrations shall be for a one-year period, expiring on January
31 of the year following their issuance. The annual renewal fee for
the license and registration tag shall be the same as for the original
one-year license and tag as set forth herein.
b.
Loss of License. If a license tag or sleeve has been misplaced or
lost, the borough clerk may issue a duplicate license and/or registration
sleeve for that particular dog at a fee of fifty ($.50) cents. Pursuant
to Ordinance No. 710-11 the fee shall be one ($1.00) dollar, effective
January 1, 2012.
The owner of any dog who fails to renew its license before the
January 31 expiration date shall be subject to a five ($5.00) dollar
late fee.
a.
Newly Acquired Dogs and Dogs Attaining Licensing Age. The owner of
any newly acquired dog of licensing age, or of any dog which attains
licensing age, shall make application for a license and registration
tag for such dog within ten days after the dog's acquisition or age
attainment.
b.
Dogs Licensed in Other States. Any person who brings or causes to be brought into the borough a dog licensed in and bearing a registration tag from another state for the current year, and who keeps the dog or permits it to be kept within the borough for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for such dog, unless it is under section 8-3 of this chapter.
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.
Any person who keeps, operates or proposes to establish a kennel,
pet shop, shelter, or pound shall apply to the borough clerk for a
license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment, which
application shall be accompanied by the written approval of the board
of health of the borough showing compliance with local and state rules
and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishments.
All licenses shall expire on January 31 of each year and shall
be subject to revocation by the borough council on recommendations
of the State Department of Health or the board of health of the borough
for failure to comply with the rules and regulations governing the
same, and after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the
State Department of Health or the board of health of the borough.
Any licensee under this section shall not be required to secure
individual licenses for dogs owned by him and kept at such establishments.
A license hereunder shall not be transferable to another premises.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations
for ten or less dogs shall be ten ($10.00) dollars; for more than
ten dogs, twenty-five ($25.00) dollars. The annual fee for a pet shop
shall be ten ($10.00) dollars. No fee shall be charged for a shelter
or pound.
No dog, either licensed or unlicensed, shall be permitted to
run at large or to trespass on any property, and no such dog shall
be permitted off any premises except on a stout leash or in a crate
and under safe control. For the purpose of this section, premises
shall include kennel, pet shop, shelter, pound, residence, or any
other place where dogs are or shall be kept.
[Amended 11-19-2018 by Ord. No. 824-18]
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or harbor within
the Borough any dog which is declared by the municipal court to be
a potentially dangerous dog, unless the dog's owner complies
with the following conditions as set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-24(a):
1) To apply, at his own expense, to the municipal clerk or other official
designated to license dogs pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.2, for a special
municipal potentially dangerous dog license, municipal registration
number, and red identification tag issued pursuant N.J.S.A. 4:19-30.
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 premises
warning that a potentially dangerous dog is on the premises. The sign
shall be visible and legible from 50 feet of the enclosure required
pursuant to the next item; 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
at least six feet in height separated by at least three 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 feet from the owner and
under the direct supervision of the owner. It shall be unlawful for
any person to keep or harbor within the Borough any dog which is declared
by the municipal court to be a vicious dog.
a.
The
municipal court shall declare the dog potentially dangerous if it
finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dog:
b.
A
dog shall not be declared potentially dangerous for:
1.
Causing bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(a) to a person
if the dog was provoked; or
c.
The
municipal court shall declare the dog vicious if it finds by clear
and convincing evidence that the dog:
d.
A
dog shall not be declared vicious for inflicting death or serious
bodily injury as defined in 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.
e.
If
the municipal court declared a dog to be vicious, and no appeal is
made of this ruling pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-25, the dog shall be
destroyed in a humane and expeditious manner, except that no dog may
be destroyed during the pendency of an appeal.
[Amended 11-19-2018 by Ord. No. 824-18]
a.
The owner of a dog which bites a person or domestic animal while
such person or domestic animal is on or in a public place, or lawfully
on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the
dog, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person
or domestic animal bitten, regardless of the former viciousness.
b.
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which barks, howls
or cries continuously for 10 minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes
so that same unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or
property of persons residing in the vicinity. The provisions of this
section shall apply to all private or public facilities, including
any animal pounds, kennels, and pet shops, where a dog is held for
any reason.
The owner of any dog which injures any person or other domestic
animals or which damages property while on any property not owned
or leased by the dog owner, whether the injury be by biting, jumping,
clawing, running or in any other manner, shall be subject to a fine
of at least fifty ($50.00) dollars but no more than five hundred ($500.00)
dollars for a first offense. The second offense shall subject the
dog owner to a minimum fine of at least one hundred ($100.00) dollars
and each subsequent violation shall increase the minimum fine by fifty
($50.00) dollars, the maximum fine shall be five hundred ($500.00)
dollars. Imprisonment for a period of up to 90 days may also be imposed
for any such first or subsequent violation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 8-7, Annual Canvass, was
repealed 11-19-2018 by Ord. No. 824-18.
The chief of police or any person appointed for that purpose
by the mayor and council shall take into custody and impound and thereafter
destroy or dispose of:
a.
Any dog off the premises of the owner or the person keeping or harboring
the dog, which the official or his agent has reason to believe is
a stray dog.
b.
Any dog off the premises of the owner or the person keeping or harboring
the dog without a current registration tag on his collar.
c.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or the person
harboring or keeping the dog.
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 is known, the chief of police or
any person authorized by him shall serve on the person whose address
is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring
the dog, if known, a notice in writing, stating that the dog has been
seized and will be liable to be disposed of if not claimed within
seven days after the service of the notice.
A notice under this section may be served either by delivering
it to the person to 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 either address.
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after
notice, when notice can be given or has been detained for seven days
after seizure, when no notice has been given, and if the owner or
person keeping or harboring the dog has not claimed the dog and paid
all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance
not exceeding two ($2.00) dollars per day, and if the dog is unlicensed
at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring
the dog has not produced a license and registration tag for the dog,
the chief of police or any person authorized by him may cause the
dog to be destroyed in as humane a manner as possible.
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any
duty under this chapter is hereby authorized to go upon any premises
to seize for impounding any dog which he may lawfully seize and impound
when the officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog except upon the
premises of the owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids
the same.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
