Township of Westampton, NJ Licensing of Dogs

§ 88-1 License required.

No person or persons shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog or permit one to be kept, harbored or maintained within the Township of Westampton unless a license to keep such dog has first been obtained from the Township Clerk of said Township for such purpose.

§ 88-2 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

DOG

Includes all canines, male and female.

OWNER

Any person who shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog shall be deemed the "owner" thereof.

§ 88-3 Issuance and expiration of license.

[Amended 9-22-1977 by Ord. No. 15-1977]

The Township Clerk of the Township of Westampton is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to issue any such license to any person or persons upon proper application therefor, in writing and in the manner and form as reasonably required by the Township Committee of said Township of Westampton. Such license, when issued, shall be valid and effective only until the 31st day of January next following the issuance thereof.

§ 88-4 License fees.

[Amended 2-3-1959]

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq., the sum to be paid annually for a dog license shall be $13.80 and the further sum of $1 for the registration tag and a surcharge of $0.20 for low-cost spay-neuter clinic, or a total of $15. However, in the event that the fee for the registration tag is increased to an amount greater than $1 by the State of New Jersey, the fee for the registration tag set forth herein shall be automatically increased to said amount, and the total of the sum to be paid annually for a dog license shall be increased in a like amount. Furthermore, state law requires that an additional $3 shall be charged for any dog of reproductive age which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization, to be known as a "surcharge of $3 for nonspayed and nonneutered dogs." Dog owners who submit the required veterinarian certificate indicating that the dog has been spayed shall not be charged the $3.

[Amended 11-15-1966; 3-28-1974 by Ord. No. 6-1974; 12-16-1976 by Ord. No. 8-1976; 11-13-1980 by Ord. No. 8-1980; 11-7-1988 by Ord. No. 14-1988; 12-2-1991 by Ord. No. 8-1991; 12-13-1994 by Ord. No. 14-1994; 10-10-1995 by Ord. No. 16-1995; 3-27-2007 by Ord. No. 4-2007; 10-23-2007 by Ord. No. 14-2007]

Whenever it shall have been reasonably certified to the satisfaction of the Township Committee that the applicant is maintaining, as the owner thereof, or otherwise responsible therefor, a number of dogs for special purposes such as breeding, hunting, shows, trials, training or for any purpose construed to be a kennel, as defined in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1, the annual fee shall be the sum of $10 for such kennel not exceeding 10 dogs and the sum of $25 for such kennel exceeding 10 dogs.

All of the foregoing fees shall be paid to the Township Clerk.

Any veteran or active duty member of the United States Armed Services, as defined by 38 U.S.C. § 101, including but not limited to current members of the reserve component or National Guard, shall be entitled to a reduction in the fee set forth in Subsection A of this section such that the sum to be paid annually by said veteran for a dog license shall be $1.80 and the further sum of $1 for the registration tag, and a surcharge of $0.20 for low-cost spay-neuter clinic, for a total of $3. Said veteran must provide valid proof of U.S. military service and register as sole owner of licensed dog.

[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 9-2022]

§ 88-5 Delinquency fees.

[Added 9-22-1977 by Ord. No. 15-1977; amended 12-9-1997 by Ord. No. 21-1997; 10-28-2008 by Ord. No. 16-2008]

Any owner keeping, harboring, or maintaining any unlicensed dog of licensing age or who shall permit one to be harbored or maintained within the Township of Westampton after January 31 shall be required to pay an additional delinquency fee of $10 for not licensing the dog in January of that year, plus the required license fee, in addition to any other fines or penalties required by law. Said delinquency shall not apply to dogs acquired by the owner after January 31 of the licensing year.

§ 88-6 Statutory provisions incorporated by reference.

[Amended 12-18-1956]

All of the provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 to and including N.J.S.A. 4:19-16, and any supplement thereto and amendment thereof, are hereby incorporated as part of this article.

§ 88-7 Violations and penalties. [1]

[Amended 12-18-1956]

Any person or persons, firm, association or corporation who or which shall violate this article or any portion thereof shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $50, in the discretion of the Municipal Judge before whom the proceedings may be heard, said penalty to be imposed and collected in accordance with provisions of N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19 and the supplements thereto or amendments thereof. Each violation may be deemed a separate offense and not a continuing offense.

[1]

Editor's Note: A resolution adopted by the Township Committee on 1-19-1965 recited that the Committee had entered into a contract with the Contented Warden Service for the purpose of having the Contented Warden Service impound stray dogs running within the Township and provided that a named employee of the Contented Warden Service was empowered to issue process in the nature of a summons on behalf of the Township.