[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:
Dog or cat, for the purpose of this article.
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.
Any dog or cat which has attained the age of seven months
or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.
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.
Any member of the domestic feline species, male, female,
or neutered.
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
The pet solid waste is removed at once, without delay.
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding
or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a
pet shop.
To render permanently incapable of reproduction as certified
by a licensed veterinarian.
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.
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.
An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association
of persons, or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.
A domesticated animal (other than a disability assistance
animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part
of a kennel, wherein animals for sale are kept or displayed.
Waste matter expelled from the bowels of the pet; excrement.
An establishment for the confinement of animals seized either
under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
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.
Any establishment where animals are received, housed, and
distributed.
The Township of Pequannock, in the County of Morris.
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.
Chapter 307 of the laws of the State of New Jersey 1989 (N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 through 4:19-35 et seq.) and the amendments and supplements thereto are hereby adopted, enacted and incorporated herein.
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.
[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.
