[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Alpine as Ch. IX (Ord. No. 190) of the 1970 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Noise — See Ch. 153.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CAT
Any cat, male or female or spayed.
CAT OF LICENSING AGE
Any cat which has attained the age of seven months.
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.
FEED
To give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game.
[Added 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
KEEPER
Any person exercising control over a dog or permitting a dog to remain on premises under his control.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, shall include every person having a right of property in such dog and every person who has such dog in his keeping.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
[Added 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
PET
A domesticated animal (other than a disability assistance animal) kept for amusement or companionship, including but not limited to dogs and cats.
[Added 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
VICIOUS DOG
Any dog which has been declared by the Municipal Judge to be a vicious dog which has attacked or bitten any human being, or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals.
WILDLIFE
All animals that are neither human nor domesticated.
[Added 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
A. 
License; when required. Licenses shall be required for the following dogs or cats of licensing age:
[Amended by Ord. No. 465]
(1) 
Any dog or cat owned or kept within the borough by a resident of the borough on the first day of January of any calendar year.
(2) 
Any dog or cat acquired by any person during the course of any calendar year and kept within the borough for more than 10 days after acquisition.
(3) 
Any dog or cat attaining licensing age during the course of the calendar year.
(4) 
Any licensed dog or cat brought into the borough by any person and kept within the borough for more than 10 days.
(5) 
Any dog or cat licensed by another state brought into the borough by any person and kept within the borough for more than 90 days.
B. 
Application for license. Each application for a license under this chapter shall give the following information:
[Amended by Ord. No. 465]
(1) 
A general description of the dog or cat sought to be licensed, including breed, sex, age, color and markings, and whether such dog is of a long- or short-haired variety.
(2) 
Name, street and post office address of the owner of, and the person who shall keep or harbor, such dog or cat. Registration numbers shall be issued in the order in which applications are received.
(3) 
With regard to the registration of a dog, proof of current compliance with State of New Jersey Department of Health regulations regarding rabies vaccination.
(4) 
With regard to a cat, a currently valid certification from a licensed veterinarian or from the Municipal Board of Health certifying that the cat has been vaccinated for rabies in the same manner prescribed for "dogs" in the regulations of the New Jersey Department of Health.
C. 
Application for license; when made. Applications for licenses for dogs or cats which are required to be licensed by the provisions of Subsection A(1) shall be made before the first day of February of each calendar year. In all other cases, the application for a license shall be made within 10 days of the day upon which the dog or cat in question first becomes subject to the provisions of this section.
[Amended by Ord. No. 465]
D. 
License record. The information on all applications under this chapter and the registration number issued to each licensed dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by the Borough Clerk. In addition, he shall forward similar information to the State Department of Health each month on forms furnished by the Department.
E. 
Fees.
[Amended by Ord. No. 342; Ord. No. 465; 2-25-1998 by Ord. No. 539; 6-27-2012 by Ord. No. 731]
(1) 
The person applying for a license shall pay the following fees:
(a) 
Neutered or spayed dogs:
State registration fee per dog
Borough fee
$1.20
$9.80
Total
$11.00
(b) 
Nonneutered or nonspayed dogs:
State registration fee per dog
Borough fee
$4.20
$9.80
Total
$14.00
(c) 
Cats:
Neutered or spayed cats
$9
Nonneutered or spayed cats
$12.00
(2) 
Late fee; summons.
(a) 
A late fee per pet will be charged for license applications received as follows:
[1] 
February 1 through 29: $10.
[2] 
After February 29: $25, adding $5 per month thereafter.
(b) 
Late fee waived for first-time licenses issued in compliance with § 68-2A.
(c) 
No summons will be issued between January 1 and March 31 for a dog or cat licensed in the prior year whose rabies vaccination remains current. However, an owner may be issued a summons at any time for a dog or cat whose rabies vaccination certificate on record has expired or if the dog or cat has not been licensed in a timely fashion as defined by the licensing provisions in § 68-2A.
(3) 
A fee of $3 shall be charged for each replacement tag.
F. 
Expiration date. Each dog or cat license and registration tag shall expire on the last day of January on the calendar year following the calendar year in which it was issued.
[Amended by Ord. No. 465]
G. 
Exceptions. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "seeing eye dogs" shall be licensed in the same manner as other dogs, except that the owner or keeper shall not be required to pay any fee.
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this chapter, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to the Borough Treasurer within 30 days after collection or receipt, and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the borough to be used for the following purposes only: collecting, keeping and disposing of dogs liable to seizure under this chapter; local prevention and control of rabies; providing antirabies treatment under the direction of the local Board of Health for any person known or suspected to have been exposed to rabies; all other purposes prescribed by the statutes of New Jersey governing the subject; and for administering the provisions of this chapter. Any unexpended balance remaining in such special account shall be retained therein until the end of the third fiscal year following and may be used for any of the purposes set forth in this section. At the end of the third fiscal year following, and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be transferred from such special account in the general funds of the borough any amount then in such account which is in excess of the total amount paid into the special account during the last two fiscal years next preceding.
B. 
The registration tag fee of $0.50 for each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Clerk to the State Department of Health.
The Chief of Police shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the borough and shall report to the Clerk, the Board of Health of the borough and the State Department of Health the results thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring dogs, the number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with the registration number of each dog; the number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored by each person, together with a complete description of each unlicensed dog.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 68-5, Vicious dogs, was repealed 3-23-2005 by Ord. No. 647.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 68-6, Impounding and destruction of certain dogs, as amended by Ord. No. 196, was repealed 3-23-2005 by Ord. No. 647.
No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in the borough except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the following regulations:
A. 
Wearing of registration tag. All dogs which are required by the provisions of this chapter to be licensed shall wear a collar or harness with the registration tag for such dog securely fastened thereto.
B. 
Use of registration tags. No person, except an officer in the performance of his/her 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.
C. 
Interference with official duties. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.
D. 
Disturbing the peace. No person shall own, keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
E. 
Running at large. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park, public building or other public place within the borough or on private property other than the dog owner's property.
[Amended by Ord. No. 425]
F. 
Leashing of dogs. No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit it to be upon the public streets or in any of the public places of the borough unless such dog is accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years and is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than six feet long except that no dog except a seeing eye dog shall be permitted in the municipal building of the borough.
[Amended by Ord. No. 467]
G. 
Property damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.
[Amended by Ord. No. 454; 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
A. 
Curbing of pets. No person owning, keeping or harboring any pet shall suffer or permit it to soil, defile, defecate or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park, or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any lawns, shrubbery or trees on any public property, or upon a lawn, shrubbery or tree on any private property not belonging to the owner or custodian of such pet. For the purpose of this subsection, the above-mentioned restrictions shall not apply to that portion of the street lying between the curblines, which shall be used to curb such pet as hereinafter provided.
B. 
Defecation upon private property. No person being the owner or in charge or control of any pet shall allow or permit it to defecate upon or otherwise soil, defile or commit any nuisance upon any private property other than the property of such person, unless the owner consents thereto.
C. 
Removal of feces. No person being the owner or in charge or control of any pet shall allow it to defecate upon or otherwise soil, defile or commit any nuisance upon any public property. When the pet shall have defecated in the portion of a public street between the curblines, it shall not be considered a violation of this subsection if, and only if, the person owning or in charge or control of said pet shall immediately remove or dispose of in a sanitary manner the feces thus deposited.
D. 
Responsibility for acts. Any pet found in any place specified in Subsection A, B or C shall be deemed to be in such place by permission or order of the owner, harborer or keeper of such pet, and any pet committing any of the acts specified therein shall be deemed to have committed such act by permission or order of the owner, harborer or keeper of such pet, and such owner, harborer and keeper shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection.
E. 
Exemptions. Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
F. 
Violations and penalties. Any person found to be in violation of this section shall be subject to a fine not exceeding the maximum penalty permitted under the Alpine Municipal Code.
[Added 11-17-2003 by Ord. No. 623]
No person, corporation or business entity shall raise, keep or harbor any bees for commercial or noncommercial purposes within the Borough of Alpine.
The Borough Council shall have the power to appoint a Dog Warden whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this chapter. The Borough Council shall also have the power to appoint one or more persons, to be known as dog catchers, who may impound unlicensed dogs running at large in violation of the provisions of this chapter, and who shall make a monthly and annual report to the Council.
[Amended by Ord. No. 199]
Where it has been determined by a physician that a person has been bitten by a dog, such individual or his/her parent or guardian, if a minor, shall immediately notify the police. When the owner or keeper of any dog shall be notified by the police that the dog has bitten any individual, the owner or keeper of the dog must comply with the following procedures:
A. 
Have the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian within 12 hours.
B. 
Have the dog kept in quarantine in the owner's home or at a kennel for a period of 10 days.
C. 
At the end of 10 days have the dog reexamined by a veterinarian and a written report of the dog's state of health sent to the Board of Health.
The Borough Council may, by proclamation, require all dogs and cats to be quarantined during such period in each year as it may deem advisable.
[Added 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 643]
A. 
Purpose. An ordinance to prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Borough of Alpine, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for such failure to comply.
B. 
Prohibited conduct. No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by the Borough of Alpine, any wildlife, excluding confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers).
C. 
Enforcement. This section shall be enforced by the Borough of Alpine Police Department.
D. 
Violations and penalties. Any person found to be in violation of this section shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately and shall be subject to a fine not exceeding the maximum penalty permitted under the Alpine Municipal Code.