[Adopted 3-20-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-1]
A. 
An animal control officer shall seize and impound a dog when the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the dog has:
(1) 
Attacked a person and caused death or serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1b;
(2) 
Caused bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1a to a person during an unprovoked attack and poses a serious threat of harm to persons or domestic animals;
(3) 
Engaged in dog-fighting activities as described in N.J.S.A. 4:22-24 and N.J.S.A. 4:22-26; or
(4) 
Has been trained, tormented, badgered, baited or encouraged to engage in unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.
B. 
The provisions of this section may be enforced by the Animal Control Officer or any person authorized by the Township to enforce the provisions of this chapter or, in emergency situations, by any member of the Police Department unless otherwise provided by N.J.S.A. 4:19-19 et seq. Such dog shall be impounded for a period of 20 days and, unless claimed during that period by its rightful owner, shall be offered for adoption or destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible, in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey. For any dog so impounded which shall be claimed by its rightful owner within the twenty-day period, such owner shall pay all expenses incurred by the impoundment of said dog. The dog shall be impounded until the disposition of all court proceedings, including proceedings as to whether the dog is vicious or potentially dangerous. Subject to the approval of the Township, the dog may be impounded in a facility or other structure agreeable to the owner.
C. 
The owner or custodian of any dog or other animal impounded within the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the following provisions:
(1) 
A redemption fee of $25 shall be paid to redeem a dog or other animal so impounded, plus a fee of $10 per day after the second day of impoundment.
(2) 
All costs incurred by the Township, including, but not limited to, the costs for the impoundment, boarding or veterinary care of any dog or other animal shall be paid by the owner or custodian.
(3) 
No dog shall be returned to the owner or claimant of said dog unless the dog shall have a current license and shall have complied with the rabies inoculations requirements as hereinafter provided and has paid the proper fees required.
(4) 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the discretion of the Animal Control Officer, an unlicensed dog or other animal may be released to the owner or custodian upon the condition that a license is obtained for the dog or other animal within 10 calendar days of the release.
D. 
Any cat found running at large in the Township of Willingboro may be apprehended and impounded by the Animal Control Officer or enforcing agent of the Township upon complaint of any citizen.
A. 
No person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring any dog which has been known to be vicious by having previously attacked or bitten any person or persons shall permit such dog to be upon a public street or highway, or upon any premises other than those of the person owning such dog or those of the person who has given permission to said owner to keep or harbor such dog on such premises, unless such dog wears a muzzle securely fastened over his jaws in such manner that he cannot bite.
B. 
Any dog which has attacked or bitten any human being or has caused any person to be fearful for his own safety by chasing, worrying or otherwise or which has habitually attacked other dogs or domestic animals is hereby defined to be a "vicious dog" for the purposes of this chapter.
A. 
Compliance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. Any dog which is found to be vicious, as defined by N.J.S.A. 4:19-22 or potentially dangerous as defined by N.J.S.A. 4:19-23, respectively, shall be subject to the provisions of this article, in addition to any and all other provisions set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq.
B. 
Reporting animal bites.
(1) 
It shall be the duty of any adult person having knowledge of an animal bite to report the bite immediately to Animal Control or to the Police Department.
(2) 
Where possible, the animal should be apprehended and confined for a reasonable period of time and examined to determine whether it may have rabies so that the victim of the bite may be treated accordingly.
(3) 
The results of the examination are to be used as a guide for complying with this section of this article.
C. 
The Animal Control Officer shall notify the Municipal Court and the Police Department immediately that he has seized and impounded a dog pursuant to either N.J.S.A. 4:19-19 et seq. or the provisions of § 99-6 in accordance with the notice provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-20.
D. 
Additional requirements. In addition to all requirements of state law, a record of each dog characterized as potentially dangerous, including the name and address of the owner and the breed and age of the dog, shall be kept with the Township Clerk and the Animal Control Officer. Owners of potentially dangerous dogs must comply with all provisions of the state law and of this section.
If the Municipal Court declares a dog to be potentially dangerous, it shall issue an order and schedule for compliance which, in part, shall require the owner to comply with the following conditions:
A. 
Comply with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 4:19-28.
B. 
Apply for a potentially dangerous dog license in accordance with N.J.S.A. 4:19-30. License fees shall be $500 per dog.
C. 
Revocation of license if the applicant, owner or other person responsible for any dangerous or potentially dangerous dog kept within the Township violates any provision of this article or any other applicable code, statute or regulation, and any license issued hereunder shall be automatically revoked and the license fee shall be retained by the Township. The Township Council reserves the right to refuse to issue or reissue a license to any person who has violated any provision of this article or any other applicable code, statute or regulation. In addition to the provisions and requirements for compliance set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-24, the owner or keeper shall notify the Township within 24 hours if the dangerous or potentially dangerous dog is loose or unconfined, has attacked another animal, has attacked a human being or has died or has been sold or given away. If the dog has been sold or given away, the owner shall provide the Township with the name, address and telephone number of the new owner and must comply with the requirements of this article.
In addition to the provisions and requirements for compliance set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-24, the owner of a potentially dangerous dog shall comply with the following requirements:
A. 
While on the owner's property, a potentially dangerous dog must be secured, confined indoors or on a securely enclosed and locked pen or structure suitable to prevent the injury of young children and designed to prevent the animal from escaping. Such a pen must, at a minimum, comply with the standards of N.J.S.A. 4:19-24(a)(3) and shall also have minimum dimensions of five feet by seven feet and must have secured sides and a secured top. If it has no bottom secured to the sides, the sides must be embedded into the ground, not less than two feet. The enclosure must also provide protection from the elements for the dog.
B. 
The owner or keeper shall display a sign on his or her premises warning that there is a potentially dangerous dog on the property which shall be visible and capable of being read from 50 feet of the enclosure. In addition, the owner shall conspicuously display a sign with a symbol warning children of the presence of a dangerous dog.
A. 
Any person who shall violate any provision of this article shall be subject to a minimum fine of no less than $100 for each and every violation and a maximum fine as provided in § 99-8 of the Code, including but not limited to N.J.S.A. 4:19-29, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding the maximum allowable by law, or both.
B. 
Any animal impounded within the provisions of this article shall be disposed of at the discretion of the person or persons authorized to handle the control of animals by the Township.