Provisions of law relative to licensing of dogs are contained
in R. S. 4:19-15.1, et seq.
[Ord. 11/4/53; Ord. 4/14/70]
As used in this chapter:
Shall mean any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Shall mean any dog which has attained the age
of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
Shall mean any person exercising control over
a dog or permitting a dog to remain on premises under his control.
Shall mean any establishment where the business
of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on,
except, a pet shop.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, shall
mean and include every person having a right of property in such dog
and every person who has such dog in his keeping.
Shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or
exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, where dogs for sale are kept
or displayed.
Shall mean an establishment for the confinement
of dogs seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
Shall mean any establishment where dogs are received,
housed and distributed without charge.
Shall mean any dog which has been declared by
a municipal judge to be a vicious dog which has attacked or bitten
any human being, or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic
animals.
[Ord. 11/4/53; Ord. 12/27/66; Ord. 1979-40; Ord. 1981-33; Ord. 1983-33; Ord. 1984-10; Ord. 1986-32; Ord. 2009-10]
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 the calendar
year and kept within the township for more than ten 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 ten 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.
Each application for a license under this chapter 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 of, and the person
who shall keep or harbor, such dog.
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Registration numbers shall be issued in the order in which applications
are received.
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Applications for licenses for dogs which are required to be licensed by the provisions of subsection 7-2.1a, shall be made before the first day of February of each calendar year. In all other cases, application for a license shall be made within ten days of the day on which the dog in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this section.
The information on all applications and the registration number
issued to each licensed dog shall be preserved for a period of three
years by the township clerk. In addition, he shall forward similar
information to the State Department of Health each month on forms
furnished by the department.
a.
The person applying for a license or renewal of a license shall
pay for each dog, a fee of $10, plus $1 fee for the registration and
a $0.20 Pilot Clinic Fee (PCF) totaling $11.20 for calendar year 2010.
The person applying for a license or renewal of a license shall pay
for each dog, a fee of $12, plus $1fee for the registration and a
$0.20 Pilot Clinic Fee (PCF) totaling $13.20 for calendar year 2011.
The person applying for a license or renewal of a license shall pay
for each dog, a fee of $14, plus $1 fee for the registration and a
$0.20 Pilot Clinic Fee (PCF) totaling $15.20 for calendar year 2012
and each year thereafter.
Owners of non-spayed or non-neutered dogs of reproductive age
shall pay an additional $3 fee to the "Animal Population Control Fund"
(APCF). Owners presenting a statement signed by a veterinarian or
a notarized statement signed personally certifying that their dog
has been sterilized, are exempt from the $3 fee.
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,
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any dog licensed under section 6-9. Dogs used as guides for blind or deaf persons and commonly known as "seeing eye dogs" or "hearing-ear dogs shall be licensed in the same manner as other dogs except their owners or keepers shall not be required to pay any fees.
[Ord. 9/14/71]
No person shall own a dog within the township unless it has
been vaccinated against rabies.
Vaccinations shall be performed by a veterinarian licensed to
practice in the State of New Jersey. The vaccine used shall be from
a manufacturer licensed by the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United
States Department of Agriculture. The dosage shall be as recommended
by the manufacturer. All dogs shall be revaccinated before the expiration
of the period of time for which the vaccine used is known to be effective.
a.
The health officer may exempt any dog from the provisions of
this section if there is presented to him a certificate from a licensed
veterinarian stating that it would be undesirable to vaccinate a particular
dog for a specified period of time because of the dog's age, infirmity
or other physical condition.
b.
No vaccination shall be required for any dog confined to a licensed
kennel, dog pound, pet shop, shelter or veterinary hospital.
The fact that a dog has been vaccinated against rabies shall
be evidenced by a certificate from the veterinarian performing the
vaccination. The certificate shall either be on a form approved by
the health officer or a standard immunization certificate used by
the veterinarian. The certificate shall be presented to the health
officer within ten days after each vaccination. In the case of dogs
vaccinated before being brought into the township, the certificate
shall be presented to the health officer within ten days after the
dog is brought into the township.
No dog license shall be issued until the certificate required
by subsection 7-2A.4 or the certificate provided for in subsection
7-2A.3 is presented to the health officer.
[Reserved by Ord. 1986-32]
[Ord. 11/4/53; Ord. 1981-33; Ord. 1983-33; Ord. 1984-10]
a.
All monies received under the provisions of this chapter shall
be forwarded to the treasurer within 48 hours 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 health
department 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 until the end of the third fiscal year following
and may be used for any of the purposes set forth herein. 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 the account
which is in excess of the total amount paid into it during the last
two fiscal years next preceding.
b.
The registration tag fee of $1 and the $0.20 Pilot Clinic fund
for each dog and the $3 for each non-spayed or non-neutered dog shall
be forwarded by the treasurer to the State Department of Health within
30 days after collection.
[Ord. 11/4/53]
The chief of police shall annually cause a canvass to be made
of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the township, and shall
report to the clerk, the health officer and the State Department of
Health the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the
names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs,
the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person,
together with the registration number of each dog, the number of unlicensed
dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with a complete
description of each unlicensed dog.
[Ord. 11/4/53]
It shall be the duty of the police department and the poundmaster
to receive and investigate complaints against dogs. If they deem any
dog complained of to be a vicious dog, they shall report their findings
in writing to the municipal judge.
The municipal judge shall notify in writing the owner or keeper
of an allegedly vicious dog that a complaint has been made, and require
such person to appear before him at a stated time and place for a
hearing. The judge shall conduct the hearing in the same manner as
he would conduct the trial of a criminal case. If the judge decides
that the dog complained of is a vicious dog, he shall so notify the
owner or keeper of the dog.
No person owning or keeping a dog which has been determined
to be a vicious dog shall permit it to be off the property of the
owner or keeper without being securely muzzled and under leash.
[Ord. 11/4/53; Ord. 4/14/70]
The poundmaster shall take into custody and impound, or cause
to be taken into custody and impounded, any of the following dogs:
a.
Any dog running at large in violation of the provisions of this
chapter.
b.
Any dog off the premises of its owner or the person keeping
or harboring it which the poundmaster or his agent has reason to believe
is a stray dog.
c.
Any dog off the premises of its owner or the person keeping
or harboring it without a current registration tag on its collar.
d.
Any female dog in season off the premises of its owner or the
person keeping or harboring it.
Any officer or agent authorized or empowered to perform any
duty under this chapter is authorized to go on any premises to seize
for impounding any dog which he may lawfully seize and impound when
he is in immediate pursuit of the dog, except on the premises of the
owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids it.
If the 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 the person keeping
or harboring the dog is known, the poundmaster 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. The notice 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 given 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.
The poundmaster 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 the dog so seized has not been claimed by the person owning,
keeping or harboring it 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 the dog so seized
has not claimed it, and has not paid all expenses incurred by reason
of its detention, including maintenance, not to exceed $2 per day.
c.
If the dog so seized is unlicensed at the time of its seizure,
and the person owning, keeping or harboring it does not produce a
license and registration tag for it.
[Ord. 11/4/53; Ord. 4/14/70; Ord. 1976-37;Ord. 1980-27; Ord. 1981-22; Ord. 2005-23]
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in the township except
in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the following
regulations.
Each dog which is required by the provisions of this chapter
to be licensed shall wear a collar or harness with its registration
tag securely fastened thereto.
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 its owner, nor shall any person attach a registration
tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized
or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any dog which
habitually barks or cries between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00
a.m.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it
to run at large on any public property or to run at large on private
property without permission of the owner of such property.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it
to be on any public property or any private property without permission
of the owner of such property if the dog is not securely controlled
by a leash.
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it
to do any injury, or to do damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers,
grounds or property.
No person owning, or in charge of any dog shall allow such dog
to defecate upon any public or private property whatsoever, except
with the expressed authority or permission of the owner of said property.
The restriction in this subsection shall not apply to the portion
of the street lying between the curblines which may be used to curb
such dogs provided that the person who so curbs such dog shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by such dog by placing the feces in a closed
bag or other container and depositing same in a trash receptacle which
is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector,
or disposed into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper
treatment and disposal.
[Ord. 4/14/70]
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 a dog shall be notified by the police that the dog has
bitten an individual, the owner or keeper of the dog shall comply
with the following procedures:
Have the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian within 12 hours.
Have the dog kept in quarantine in the owner's home or at a
kennel for a period of ten days.
At the end of ten days have the dog reexamined by a veterinarian
and a written report of the dog's state of health sent to the health
officer.
[Ord. 4/14/70]
The council may, by proclamation, require all dogs and cats
to be quarantined during such period in each year which may seem advisable
to the council.
[Ord. 1976-37]
Animal control officers, as defined by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et
seq. employed by the township, under the supervision of the chief
of police or member of the East Windsor Township Police Department
designated by the chief of police, shall have the following power
and authority:
a.
Enforce all State laws and township ordinances enacted for the
protection of animals including animal control, animal cruelty and
animal welfare.
b.
Investigate and sign complaints concerning any violations of
an animal control, animal welfare or animal cruelty law of the State
or ordinance of the township.
