[Adopted 6-23-1980 as Ch. V of the 1980 Code]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AT LARGE
Any dog off the property of his owner and not under the strict control of a competent person.
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 wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every person having a right of property in such dog and every 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.
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this article or otherwise.
SECURE ENCLOSURE
An enclosure or pen out of which an animal cannot escape.
SECURE LEASH
A leash or chain which an animal cannot break or sever.
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed without charge.
STRICT CONTROL
When a dog is leashed, carried, or at heel beside a competent person and obedient to that person's command.
VICIOUS ANIMAL
Any animal which has on more than one occasion bitten a person without provocation or has been declared by a Municipal Judge to be a vicious animal.
A. 
License required. No person shall keep or harbor any dog of licensing age within the Borough without first obtaining a license and registration tag therefor, to be issued by the Borough Clerk upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog in the Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
B. 
Application; when made.
(1) 
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall annually, in the month of January, apply for and procure from the Board of Health a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored and shall place upon such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto.
(2) 
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 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment. Any new resident of the Borough who owns, keeps or harbors a dog of licensing age shall make application for a license and registration tag for such dog within 10 days of establishing residence in the Borough.
C. 
Application requirements. The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which license and registration are sought and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety, and also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog. Evidence of current rabies vaccination shall be provided.
D. 
Fees. The annual fee for dog licenses and registration tags shall be as provided in § 111-3A.
(1) 
The fee for each annual renewal of the license and the registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag. Dog licenses, registration tags and the renewals thereof shall expire on January 31 in each year. All license and registration tag fees shall be payable in full for the entire amount thereof, regardless of the date applied for or issued.
(2) 
A late charge fee shall be paid by all applicants for licenses under this article where the licenses were not applied for within the time limitations set forth in this article.
E. 
Exceptions. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "seeing eye dogs," "service dogs" and "hearing-ear dogs" shall be licensed and registered as other dogs, except that the owners of such dogs shall not be required to pay any fees.
F. 
Removal of tags. No person, except an officer in the performance of his duties, shall remove a registration tag from the collar of any dog without consent of his owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.
A. 
Running at large.
(1) 
No dog shall run at large at any time within the Borough.
(2) 
No person owning, keeping, or harboring a dog shall permit or suffer it to be off the premises of any such person unless under the strict control of some responsible person able to control the dog.
(3) 
All dogs must be on a leash or in a carrier when on a public street or sidewalk within the Borough of Mountain Lakes.
[Added 10-14-2013 by Ord. No. 04-13]
B. 
Restriction on public and private property. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit, suffer or take such animal upon any private property whatsoever without the consent of the owner, or upon public property in violation of the following rules:
(1) 
No dog shall be allowed on school property except in wooded areas or except with the specific permission of the school principal.
(2) 
No dog shall be allowed on Borough-owned playfields or playgrounds.
(3) 
No dog shall be allowed on Borough-owned beaches.
(4) 
No dog shall be allowed in any store or public eating place within the Borough. Seeing eye dogs shall be excepted.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 79-3B(5), pertaining to pet feces and the responsibility of owners, which was added 6-25-2001 by Ord. No. 08-01 and which immediately followed this section, was repealed 9-26-2005 by Ord. No. 15-05. See now Ch. 179, Pet Waste.
C. 
Property damage; responsibility of owner of dog.
(1) 
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or other animal shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or damage to any lawn, garden, shrubbery, flowers, trees, grounds or other property.
(2) 
In addition to any fines levied, as a result of violations of this article, the owner of any animal which causes damage to another's property shall be responsible for the damage caused.
D. 
Personal injury; vicious or potentially dangerous dogs.
(1) 
No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog or other animal shall permit it to do any injury to any person or to create a condition hazardous to the public health, safety or welfare. Any dog causing injury under circumstances which give reasonable cause for the Animal Control Officer to believe that it may be vicious or potentially dangerous shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 through 4:19-37.
[Amended by Ord. No. 3-96]
(2) 
The owner shall confine, within a building or secure enclosure, every vicious or dangerously hostile dog or other animal and not take such dog or other animal out of such building or secure enclosure unless such dog or other animal is securely muzzled and leashed or caged.
E. 
Disturbing the peace. No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog or other animal which habitually barks, howls or cries so as to disturb the public peace. The keeping of such dog or other animal, or fowl, whether licensed or not, which by habitual barking, howling or crying or other noise disturbs or annoys any person is unlawful and is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Each day that the violation continues after official notice of complaint shall constitute a separate offense.
F. 
Confining of female dogs. Every female dog in season shall be kept confined in a building or secure enclosure or in a veterinary hospital or boarding kennel in such a manner that such female dog cannot come in contact with another dog, except for intentional breeding purposes. Nothing herein shall prevent the owner from walking and exercising such dog on that owner's property, provided that the dog is controlled and secured by an adequate leash. The Animal Control Officer shall take into custody and impound any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring such dog.
A. 
The Borough Manager shall designate an individual or agency to serve as Animal Control Officer. It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Warden to enforce the provisions of this article and to receive and investigate complaints against animals.
B. 
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the Animal Control Officer of the Borough and any police officer of the Borough.
A. 
Causes for impounding. The Animal Control Officer 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 the dog, which the Animal Control Officer has reason to believe is a stray dog.
(2) 
Any dog off the premises of the owner, or of the person keeping or harboring the dog, 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 the dog.
B. 
Impounding fees. An owner may obtain the release of his animal upon payment of maintenance and recovery fees, as provided in § 111-3A.
(1) 
When dogs are found running at large, and proof of the dog's ownership is obtained by the Animal Control Officer, such dogs need not be impounded, but the officer may cite the owners of such dogs for violation of the provisions of this article.
(2) 
The person who owns, keeps, or harbors any dog which is subsequently injured or killed and which is treated or disposed of by either the Animal Control Officer or a veterinarian designated by the warden shall be responsible for and shall pay and satisfy all costs and charges of such treatment and/or disposal.
C. 
Access to premises. The Animal Control Officer, or any police officer of the Borough, is hereby authorized to go upon any premises to seize for impounding any dog or dogs which he may lawfully seize and impound when such officer is in immediate pursuit of such dog or dogs, except upon the premises of the owner of the dog if the owner is present and forbids the same.
D. 
Interference with officer's duties. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article or seek to release any animal in the custody of such persons.
E. 
Notice of seizure.
(1) 
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 or the person keeping or harboring the dog is known, any person authorized by the Animal Control Officer shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or person keeping or harboring the dog if known, a notice in writing stating that the dog has been seized and shall be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
(2) 
A notice under this subsection 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.
F. 
Disposition of unclaimed dogs. When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice is 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 owner or person keeping or harboring the dog has not claimed the dog and paid all expenses incurred by reason of its detention, 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 Animal Control Officer may cause the dog to be destroyed, in a manner causing as little pain as possible, or to be offered for adoption.
G. 
Disposition of animals other than dogs. Any animal, other than a dog, found running at large within the Borough limits may be impounded or disposed of according to law when such action is required either to protect the animal or to protect the residents of the Borough.
The Animal Control Officer shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the Borough and shall report to the Borough Clerk, the Board of Health, and to the State Department of Health the result thereof, on or before September 1 of each year, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring unlicensed dogs and the number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each of such persons, together with a complete description of each of the unlicensed dogs.
A. 
No person shall own, possess, harbor or have in custody in the Borough any dog over six months of age unless such dog has been vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. Such vaccination shall be repeated annually thereafter, or as required by law.
B. 
The person owning, harboring or having custody of any such dog shall obtain from the veterinarian who vaccinates the dog against rabies a certificate, in duplicate, on forms supplied by the Board of Health and available at the office of the Borough Manager at the Borough Hall, and shall, within 10 days after bringing the dog into the Borough, if the dog was vaccinated before being brought into the Borough, or within 10 days of such vaccination, deliver both copies of such certificate to the Borough Clerk, who shall return one copy to such person marked with the date of filing of the same, together with a metal tag bearing a number corresponding to the number of the certificate. The second copy of the certificate shall be filed by the Borough Manager with the records of the Board of Health. The metal tag shall immediately be attached to the collar or harness of the dog, where it shall remain at all times, except if the dog is in a wholly enclosed area on the premises of the owner.
When a person has been bitten by a dog, the individual, or his parent or guardian if he is a minor, shall immediately notify the police.
A. 
When the owner or keeper of any dog is notified by the police that the dog has bitten any individual or individuals, the owner or keeper of the dog shall comply with the following procedures. He shall:
(1) 
Have the dog kept in quarantine in the owner's home or at a kennel for a period of 10 days.
(2) 
At the end of the 10 days, have the dog examined by a veterinarian and have a written report of the dog's state of health sent to the Board of Health.
B. 
The owner of any dog shall ensure that such dog shall not bite a person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog. Such owner shall be in violation of this section, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness.
C. 
For the purpose of this section, a person is lawfully upon the private property of such owner when he is on the property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this state or the laws or postal regulations of the United States or when he is on such property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner thereof.
D. 
The conduct of a dog shall be charged to the owner thereof, and the owner shall be deemed to have permitted any dog who acts contrary to the requirements of this article to act so, and such owner shall be charged with the violation thereof.
A. 
License required. Any person who keeps or operates, or proposes to establish, a kennel or pet shop shall apply to the Borough Clerk for a license entitling him to keep or operate such an establishment. Any person holding such a license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at such establishments. Such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
B. 
Application information.
(1) 
The application shall contain the following information:
(a) 
The name and the permanent and local address of the applicant.
(b) 
The street address where the establishment is located or proposed to be located, together with a general description of the premises.
(c) 
The purposes for which it shall be maintained and the number of animals to be kept.
(2) 
Each application shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Health Officer of the Board of Health that the establishment or proposed establishment complies with local and state rules governing the location of and sanitation at such establishment.
C. 
License term. All licenses issued for a kennel or pet shop shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained. Any such license shall be issued for the calendar year only and shall expire on June 30 of the year issued, unless otherwise revoked.
D. 
License fees. The annual license fees for kennels and pet shops shall be as provided in § 111-3A.
E. 
Causes for revocation. All licenses issued for a kennel or pet shop shall be subject to revocation by the Borough on recommendation of the State Department of Health or sanitation officers for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health or the Board of Health, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department of Health or the Board of Health.
F. 
Control of dog off premises. No dog kept in a kennel or pet shop shall be permitted off such premises, except on a leash, in a crate or under other safe control.
G. 
Reports to State Department of Health. The Borough Clerk shall forward to the State Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops and pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include the name and address of the licensee and the kind of license issued.
[Added by Ord. No. 4-82]
A. 
Any person who shall violate any provision of § 79-2 of this article shall be penalized by a fine of not less than $5 nor more than $50 for each offense, except that for the first offense in cases of violations of § 79-2B the penalty shall be not less than $1 nor more than $50, to be disposed of in accordance with law.
B. 
Unless otherwise specified herein, or in N.J.S.A. 19:15-19, for a particular offense, any person who shall violate or fail or refuse to comply with any other term or provision of this article shall be liable for a fine of not more than $250. It is recommended that a minimum fine of $25 be imposed for a first violation and a minimum fine of $35 be imposed for a second violation, if the violation occurs within one year of the first offense.