[1972 Code § 9-2.1]
Licenses shall be required for the following dogs of licensing
age:
a.
Any dog owned or kept within the Township by a resident of the Township
on the first day of January of any calendar year.
b.
Any dog acquired by any person during the course of any calendar
year and kept within the Township for more than 10 days after acquisition.
c.
Any dog attaining licensing age during the course of the calendar
year.
d.
Any unlicensed dog brought into the Township by any person and kept
within the Township for more than 10 days.
e.
Any dog licensed by another State brought into the Township by any
person and kept within the Township for more than 90 days.
[1972 Code § 9-2.2; New]
Each application for a license under this article shall give
the following information:
a.
A general description of the dog sought to be licensed, including
breed, sex, age, color and markings, and whether such dog is of a
long- or short-haired variety.
b.
Name, street and post office address of the owner and of the person
who shall keep or harbor such dog. For legal purposes, the owner must
be 18 years of age or older.
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order in which applications
are received.
[1972 Code § 9-2.3]
Applications for licenses for dogs which are required to be licensed by the provisions of subsection 5-2.1a shall be made before the first day of February of each calendar year. In all other cases, the application for a license shall be made within 10 days of the day upon which the dog in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this section.
[1972 Code § 9-2.4]
The information on all applications under this article and the
registration number issued to each licensed dog shall be preserved
for a period of three years by the Township Clerk. In addition the
Clerk shall forward similar information to the State Department of
Health each month on forms furnished by the Department.
[1972 Code § 9-2.5; Ord. No. 08-07; Ord. No. 13-28]
The person applying for a license shall pay a fee of $24 for
each unspayed or unneutered dog, and $15 for each spayed or neutered
dog. These fees shall include the requirement imposed by State law
or $1.20 per dog registered, for a registration tag and for the pilot
clinic fund. The same fees shall be charged to the annual renewal
of each license and registration tag.
[1972 Code § 9-2.6]
Each dog license and registration tag shall expire on the last
day of January of the calendar year following the calendar year in
which it was issued.
[1972 Code § 9-2.7]
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any dog licensed under Section 5-11, Pet Shops, Kennels and Pounds. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "seeing eye dogs" shall be licensed in the same manner as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper shall not be required to pay any fee.
[1972 Code § 9-6.1; New]
The provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. imposing a set of
requirements on the owners of vicious or potentially dangerous dogs
are hereby established pursuant to said law, a copy of which is on
file in the office of the Township Clerk.
[1972 Code § 9-6.2]
Any person applying for a potentially dangerous dog license,
registration number and red identification tag pursuant to N.J.S.A.
4:19-17 et seq., shall pay a fee of $700.
[1972 Code § 9-5; N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.15]
Any person appointed for this purpose by the Township Council
shall, either annually or biennially, at the direction of the Township
Council, cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored
within the Township and shall report, on or before September 1 of
the year in which the census is taken, to the Clerk or other person
designated to license dogs in the municipality and to the Department
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 unlicensed dogs, the number of unlicensed
dogs owned, kept or harbored by such person, together with a complete
description of each unlicensed dog.
[1972 Code § 9-8; Ord. No. 08-17 § 9-8.8; Ord. No. 09-13 § 9-8.8; Ord. No. 10-07; New; Ord. No. 2017-34]
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in the Township except
in compliance with the provisions of this article and the following
regulations.
a.
Wearing
of Registration. All dogs which are required by the provisions of
this article to be licensed shall wear a collar or harness with the
registration tag for such dog securely fastened thereto.
b.
Use
of Registration Tags. 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.
c.
Interference
with Official Duties. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere
with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this
article.
e.
Running
at Large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer
or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public
park, public building or other public place within the Township.
f.
Leashing
of Dogs. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer
or permit it to be upon the public streets or in any of the public
places of the Township unless such dog is accompanied by a person
over the age of 12 years and is securely confined and controlled by
an adequate leash not more than six feet long.
g.
Property
Damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit
or suffer it to do any injury, or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery,
flowers, grounds or property.
h.
Maximum
Number of Dogs.
1.
No person shall own, keep or harbor nor suffer the maintenance within his household of more than five dogs at any time upon any residential, commercial or industrial property within the Township. The maximum number of dogs allowable for any townhouse, condominium, apartment or similar multifamily living unit shall be two for each such dwelling unit. Puppies under the age of four months are excepted herefrom. Animal hospitals, licensed kennels, pet shops, shelters, pounds or training facilities for the blind are not regulated pursuant to this paragraph. Any person desiring to maintain a number of dogs in excess of those permitted herein must possess a kennel license as required in subsection 5-11.1.
[Ord. No. 2017-34]
2.
Notwithstanding the foregoing section, any person shall be permitted
to own, keep or harbor any dog properly licensed within the Township
as of January 1, 2008, and which dog has been annually licensed thereafter.
3.
This section shall not apply to a person or entity which (i) maintains
and trains dogs as guides for blind persons and commonly known as
"seeing-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; or which (ii) operates as a licensed
animal rescue facility.
4.
A person or entity which seeks to operate an animal rescue facility
must apply to and receive approval from the Supervisor of the Department
of Community Development.
[1972 Code § 9-9]
Where it has been determined by a physician that a person has
been bitten by a dog, such individual, or his parent or guardian if
he is a minor, shall immediately notify the Police. When the owner
or keeper of any dog shall be notified by the Police that the dog
has bitten any individual or individuals, the owner or keeper of the
dog shall comply with the following procedures:
Have the dog kept in quarantine at the owner's home or
at the kennel for a period of 10 days.
At the end of 10 days have the dog re-examined by a veterinarian
and a written report of the dog's state of health sent to the
Board of Health.
[1972 Code § 9-10]
The Township Council may, by proclamation, require all dogs
and cats to be quarantined during such period in each year as may
seem advisable to the Council.
[1972 Code § 9-11; New]
In accordance with subsection 2-65.8, the Township Council shall have the power to enter into an Interlocal Service Agreement with Edison Township Animal Shelter, whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this article. The Council shall also have the power to appoint one or more persons, to be known as Animal Control Officers, who may also enforce the provisions of this article.
[1972 Code § 9-7.1; New]
The pound/shelter keeper and/or the Animal Control Officer shall
take into custody and impound, or cause to be taken into custody and
impounded, any of the following dogs:
a.
Any unlicensed dog running at large in violation of the provisions
of this article.
b.
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or
harboring such dog which the Animal Control Officer or his agent has
reason to believe is a stray dog.
c.
Any dog off the premises of the owner of or the person keeping or
harboring such dog without a current registration tag on its collar.
d.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner of or the
person keeping or harboring such dog.
[1972 Code § 9-7.2]
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 which he may lawfully seize and impound
when such 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
same.
[1972 Code § 9-7.3]
If any dog so impounded or seized wears a registration tag,
collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the
name and address of any person or the owner of, or if the person keeping
or harboring the dog is known, the Animal Control Officer shall immediately
serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the
person owning, keeping or harboring the dog, 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 service of the
notice.
A notice under this subsection 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
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.
[1972 Code § 9-7.4]
The Animal Control Officer is authorized and empowered to cause
the destruction of any unclaimed dog, in as humane a manner as possible,
under any of the following contingencies:
a.
When any dog so seized has not been claimed by the person owning,
keeping or harboring such dog within seven days after notice or within
seven days of the dog's detention when notice has not been or
cannot be given, as set forth in the previous subsection.
b.
If the person owning, keeping or harboring any dog so seized has
not claimed the dog and has not paid all expenses incurred by reason
of its detention, including maintenance.
c.
If the seized dog is unlicensed at the time of its seizure and the
person owning, keeping or harboring such dog has not produced a license
and registration tag as provided in this chapter.
[1972 Code § 9-4]
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the
provisions of this chapter, except the registration tag fees, shall
be forwarded to the Township Treasurer within 30 days after collection
or receipt, and shall be placed in a special account separate from
any of the other accounts of the Township and shall be used for the
following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs
liable to seizure under this chapter; local prevention and control
of rabies; providing anti-rabies treatment under the direction of
the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have
been exposed to rabies; all other purposes prescribed by the Statutes
of New Jersey governing the subject, and for administering the provisions
of this chapter. 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 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 Township any
amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount
paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next
preceding.
The registration tag fee of $0.50 for each dog shall be forwarded
within 30 days after collection by the clerk to the State Department
of Health.
