Relevant statutory provisions are found in R.S. 4:19-15.1, et seq.
As used in this chapter:
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
DOG OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
KENNEL
Any establishment except a pet shop wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on.
OWNER
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.
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG
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]
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed without charge.
VICOUS DOG
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:
1. 
Caused bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(a) to a person during an unprovoked attack, and poses a serious threat of bodily injury or death to a person; or
2. 
Severely injured or killed another domestic animal, and:
(a) 
Poses a threat of serious bodily injury or death to a person; or
(b) 
Poses a threat of death to another domestic animal; or
3. 
Has been trained, tormented, badgered, baited or encouraged to engage in unprovoked attacks upon persons or domestic animals.
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
2. 
Severely injuring or killing a domestic animal if the domestic animal was the aggressor.
For the purposes of Subsection b(1), the municipality shall bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that the dog was not provoked.
c. 
The municipal court shall declare the dog vicious if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the dog:
1. 
Killed a person or caused serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1(b) to a person; or
2. 
Has engaged in dog fighting activities as described in N.J.S.A. 4:22-24 and N.J.S.A. 4:22-26.
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 subsections 8-6.3, Soil, Defile, Commit Nuisance upon Public Property, and 8-6.4, Soil or Damage Laws, Shrubs, Etc., previously codified herein, were repealed in their entirety by Ordinance No. 628-06. See section 5-25, Pet Waste, for regulations pertaining to pet waste.
[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.
d. 
Any dog off the premises of the person owning or harboring the same not secured as required by subsection 8-4.
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.