[Adopted 7-22-1997 as Ch. 068 of the 1997 Code]
[Amended 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Dog or cat, for the purpose of this article.
ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER
Any person appointed by the Township of Pequannock who possesses a certification of animal control officer issued by the New Jersey Department of Health and who shall be responsible for animal control within the Township of Pequannock pursuant to these regulations.
ANIMAL OF LICENSING AGE
Any dog or cat which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
BITE
To seize with the teeth or jaws so as to enter, nip or grip the person or thing seized; also to cut, wound, pierce or impress deeply the person or thing seized.
CAT
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female, or neutered.
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
IMMEDIATE
The pet solid waste is removed at once, without delay.
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
NEUTERED
To render permanently incapable of reproduction as certified by a licensed veterinarian.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of an animal shall include every person having a right of property (or custody) in such animal and every person who has such animal in his/her keeping, or who harbors or maintains an animal or knowingly permits an animal to remain on or about any premises occupied by that person. A person shall be deemed to have an animal in his keeping or under his control whenever the ownership or custody of such animal is in an unemancipated infant or other member of his/her household.
OWNER'S PREMISES
Includes the building or plot of land on which said building stands in which the owner of an animal has a place of abode or place of business in the Township.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association of persons, or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
PET
A domesticated animal (other than a disability assistance animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein animals for sale are kept or displayed.
PET SOLID WASTE
Waste matter expelled from the bowels of the pet; excrement.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of animals seized either under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
PROPER DISPOSAL
Placement in a designated waste receptacle, or other suitable container, and discarded in a refuse container which is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector, or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper treatment and disposal.
SHELTER
Any establishment where animals are received, housed, and distributed.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Pequannock, in the County of Morris.
VICIOUS ANIMAL
Any animal which at any time, without provocation, has attacked or shall attack a human being or another domestic pet, either while upon or off the premises occupied by the person owning, keeping, harboring or having the custody or possession of the attacking animal. "Vicious animal" shall also mean and include any animal which has caused any human being engaged in a lawful activity or occupancy to be fearful for his own safety by chasing or snapping at such person without provocation.
A. 
The position of Animal Control Officer is hereby established under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health.
B. 
The Animal Control Officer shall be an employee of the Township and subject to the control and direction of the Health Officer or his authorized representative.
C. 
The duties of the Animal Control Officer shall be the enforcement of the measures and provisions for the control of animals contained in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 through 4:19-15.29 and any amendments thereof and the provisions of this article.
No person shall keep or harbor or suffer the keeping or harboring within the limits of the Township of Pequannock of any dog or cat of licensing age without first obtaining a license therefor to be issued by the Health Department of the Township of Pequannock upon application by the owner or some person on behalf of the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog or cat in the Township except in compliance with the provisions for the control of animals contained in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 through 4:19-15.29 and any amendments thereof.
A. 
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor or suffer the keeping or harboring of any dog of licensing age within the Township of Pequannock shall, in the month of January and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the Health Department a license and official registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon each dog a collar or other device with the license number securely fastened or displayed thereon.
B. 
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor or suffer the keeping or harboring of any cat of licensing age within the Township of Pequannock shall, in the month of January and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the Health Department a license and official registration tag for each such cat so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon such cat a collar or other device with the license number securely fastened or displayed thereon. Acceptable methods of displaying the license number shall include, but not be limited to, breakaway or elastic collars.
A. 
The person applying for a license and registration tag shall pay a fee for each dog or cat as provided for in § 100-14 of this article.
B. 
The person applying for a license and registration tag shall pay the fee fixed or authorized. The fee for renewal of the license and registration tag shall be the same as for the original, and said license, registration tag and renewal thereof shall expire on January 31 in the following year. Only one license and registration tag shall be required in any licensing year for any dog or cat owned in Pequannock Township, and such license and registration tag issued by any municipality in the State of New Jersey shall be accepted as evidence of compliance with this section.
C. 
Any dog or cat owner or person harboring a dog or cat found to have an unlicensed dog or cat by the Township Animal Control Officer or any other municipal official on or after February 1 shall be required to pay an additional delinquent fee as established in § 100-14 plus the required license fee as provided in this article for his animal license, together with any other fines due to summons issued that may be imposed on him as provided in this article for failure to obtain an animal license by January 31. The aforementioned fee shall not apply to animals which have been acquired by the owner after February 1, provided that said license is obtained within 10 days after acquisition and sufficient proof is presented to establish the date the dog or cat is acquired.
D. 
Dogs used 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 shall be licensed and registered as other animals hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
E. 
The owner or keeper of any newly acquired animal of licensing age shall make application for such license and registration tag for such animal within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
F. 
Any owner or keeper of a licensed dog or cat whose current license tag has been lost may obtain a replacement tag by applying to the Health Department immediately. A charge as established in § 100-14 of this article is made for replacement of this tag.
G. 
No person shall make use of, or have in his possession or under his control, a stolen, counterfeit or forged dog or cat license receipt, animal license registration tag or rabies vaccination certification or other forms issued in accordance with the provisions of this article.
H. 
Any person applying for a dog or cat license for a neutered dog or cat must present to the licensing agent a veterinarian's certification that said animal of reproductive age has had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization.
A. 
All dogs and cats shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian in accordance with the latest Compendium of Animal Rabies Vaccines and Recommendations for Immunization published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, except as provided for in § 100-6D of this article.
B. 
Any person applying for a dog or cat license and registration tag must provide evidence to the Health Department that said animal has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine of a type approved by and administered in accordance with the recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Human Services, or has been certified exempt as provided for by § 100-6D of this article. The rabies inoculation shall be administered by a duly licensed veterinarian, or by such other veterinarian permitted by law to do the same. Such vaccine shall be repeated at intervals as provided by regulations of the New Jersey State Department of Health.
C. 
A certificate of vaccination shall be issued to the owner of each dog or cat vaccinated on a form recommended by the State of New Jersey.
D. 
Any dog or cat may be exempt from the requirement of such vaccination for a specified period of time by the Health Department upon presentation of a veterinarian's certificate stating that because of an infirmity or other physical condition, or regimen of therapy, the inoculation of such animal shall be deemed inadvisable.
A. 
Any person appointed for the purpose by the Township of Pequannock shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as provided in this section:
(1) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog which said official or his agent or agents have reason to believe is a stray dog.
(2) 
Any dog or cat off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog or cat without a current registration tag on his collar.
(3) 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
(4) 
Any dog or other animal which is suspected of being rabid.
(5) 
Any dog or other animal off the premises of the owner reported to, or observed by, a certified Animal Control Officer to be ill, injured or creating a threat to public health, safety or welfare, or otherwise interfering with the enjoyment of property.
B. 
If any animal 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 or the person keeping or harboring said animal is known, any person authorized by the Township shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or person keeping or harboring said animal, if known, a notice in writing stating that the animal has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
C. 
A notice under this section 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 post 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.
D. 
When any animal so seized has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as above set forth, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when no notice has been given as above set forth, and if the person keeping or harboring said animal has not claimed said animal and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including maintenance, and if the animal is unlicensed at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said animal has not produced a license and registration tag for said animal, any person authorized by the Township may cause the animal to be destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible and consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:22-19 and any amendments thereof.
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 animal or animals which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is the immediate pursuit of such animal or animals, except upon the premises of the owner of the animal if said owner is present and forbids the same.
A. 
Whenever a dog, cat or other animal is affected by rabies or suspected of being affected by rabies or has been bitten by an animal known or suspected to be affected by rabies, the owner or person in charge of the animal, or any person having knowledge thereof, shall forthwith notify the Health Department of the place where the animal is located.
B. 
Whenever a dog, cat or other animal bites a person, the owner or person in charge of the animal, the person bitten or parent or guardian or the physician having professional attendance upon every person bitten shall notify the Health Department of the name, age, sex, color, and precise location of the person so bitten pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:4-78 through 26:4-95.
[Amended 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
A. 
No person shall suffer, permit or allow any animal to injure or damage or soil or defile any lawn or shrubbery or flowers or grounds, or any property, either public or private, of any person other than that of its owner. All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of their pet's solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person, except for any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal who shall be exempt from this subsection while the animal is being used for that purpose.
B. 
No person shall suffer, permit, or allow any dog to be upon any private or public property other than the premises of the owner without the consent of the owner or tenant of the private or public property or permit the dog to run unleashed off the premises of the owner.
No person shall keep within the Township any dog causing a nuisance and disturbing the peace and quiet of the neighborhood in which it shall be kept by chronically howling, barking and/or making and causing other sounds or noises.
A. 
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or pound shall apply to the Health Department for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment and shall pay an annual fee as established in § 100-14 of this article. The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located and the purpose for which it is to be maintained.
B. 
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall expire on the last day of June of each year and be subject to revocation by the Township for failure to comply with rules and regulations governing kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds pursuant to the New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 8, Chapter 23, Subchapter 3, and this article. Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for animals owned by such licensee and kept at such establishment; such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
C. 
No animal kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be permitted off the premises, except on a leash or in a crate or other method of safe control.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. 068.14 of the 1997 Code, Canvass of dogs and cats, which immediately followed this section, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[Amended 9-25-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-19; 5-25-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-19; 7-24-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-25; 4-22-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-08]
The fees provided in Chapter 152, Fees, shall be paid to the Township of Pequannock for compliance with this article.
[Amended 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the Pequannock Township Health Department and/or Animal Control Officer. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.
[Amended 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-32; 7-24-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-25; 10-27-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-21; 8-9-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-11]
Any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this article shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each offense, except:
A. 
Dogs running at large, wherein the first offense shall be $50, the second offense shall be $150, and the third and subsequent offenses shall be $200.
B. 
Fines for unlicensed dogs and/or cats shall be no more than $50 per animal plus court costs per animal payable through the Violations Bureau for the first offense and a fine of not more than $500 for each subsequent offense.
C. 
The penalty for failure to immediately and properly dispose of a pet's solid waste shall be $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second offense, and $500 for the third offense and any subsequent offense.