As used in this article the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ABANDONMENT
Releasing, leaving or refusing to pick up or claim any animal which
one owned, possessed or had in one's custody or control.
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.
LITTER
One or more animals born to a female animal.
OWNER
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, means and 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.
SHELTER
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under
the provisions of this article or otherwise.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall,
during the month of January of each year and annually thereafter, apply for
and procure from the authorized municipal licensing official a license and
official registration tag for each such dog so owned, kept or harbored, and
shall place upon each such dog a collar or harness with the registration tag
securely fastened thereto.
[Amended 10-3-1977 by Ord.
No. 77-37; 8-21-1978 by Ord.
No. 78-19]
Any dog owner or person harboring an unlicensed dog after January 31 shall pay, in addition to the required license fee, a delinquency fee per license as provided for in Chapter
94, Fees. Any person identified by the Animal Warden, a dog canvasser or any other municipal official as owning or harboring an unlicensed dog after March 1 shall be required to pay a delinquency fee per unlicensed dog as provided for in Chapter
94, Fees. Delinquency fees shall not apply to dogs which have been acquired by the owner after February 1, in which case the license fee shall be the same as set forth in §
78-3. The owner, however, must present sufficient proof to establish that said dog was acquired after February 1.
Only one license and registration tag shall be required in any licensing year for any dog owned in New Jersey, and such license and tag issued by any other municipality of this state shall be accepted by this municipality as evidence of compliance with §§
78-2 and
78-3.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing age or of any dog which
attains licensing age shall make application for license and registration
tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition or age attainment.
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment
for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound is located or is proposed to be located
and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained, and shall be
accompanied by the written approval of the Board of Health and Zoning Officer
showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing
the location of and sanitation at such establishments.
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be
subject to revocation by the governing body on recommendation of the State
Department of Health or the Municipal Board of Health for failure to comply
with applicable provisions of this article or the rules and regulations of
the State Department of Health or of the Municipal Board of Health governing
the same, after the licensee has been afforded a hearing by either the State
Department of Health or the governing body.
No dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall be permitted
off such premises except on leash or in a crate or under other safe control.
The authorized municipal licensing official shall forward to the State
Department of Health a list of all kennels, pet shops, shelters 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.
The Chief of Police or such other persons designated by the governing
body shall promptly after February 1 of each year cause a canvass to be made
of all unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the municipality.
He shall report on or before May 1 of each year to the authorized municipal
licensing official, to the Board of Health and to the State Department of
Health the result thereof, setting forth in separate columns the names and
addresses of persons owning, keeping or harboring such dogs and the number
of unlicensed dogs owned or kept by each of said persons, together with the
complete description of each of said unlicensed dogs.
The Somerset Regional Animal Shelter Commission may appoint or hire, at such times and for such terms as may from time to time seem expedient, one or more persons, to be known as "Animal Wardens," whose duties shall be to enforce the provisions of this article and take into custody and impound dogs as provided in §
78-19. The governing body may authorize the members of the Police Department to perform the above services or may contract for the performance of such services by other municipal agencies.
[Amended 10-3-1977 by Ord.
No. 77-37]
Impounding and disposal fees, which include charges for boarding, pickups (dead or alive), euthanasia, adoption, registration, redemption and the disposal of a litter of animals, shall be in the amounts provided for in Chapter
94, Fees.
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 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 said owner is present and forbids the same.
No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or
empowered to perform any duty under this article.
No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries and thus disturbs the public peace, or which by frequent barking disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood and creates a nuisance thereby. The license for a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound issued pursuant to §
78-11 may be suspended or revoked for continued violations of this section after the licensee has been afforded a hearing by the governing body on due notice of such complaints.
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog shall suffer or permit
it to be upon the public or private streets of the municipality unless such
dog is accompanied by a person over 12 years of age and controlled by an adequate
leash not more than six feet long. Seeing Eye dogs shall be excused from the
control set forth in this section when accompanied by their masters.
[Amended 8-21-1978 by Ord.
No. 78-19]
All dogs and/or cats which bite any person shall be quarantined by the
local Board of Health for a ten-day period. The Municipal Health Officer shall
provide written instructions to the owner of the animal pursuant to the terms
of the quarantine order. Unlicensed dogs shall be quarantined at the owner's
expense at the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter.
Where a dog habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals, a complaint
may be made against the owner thereof for keeping and harboring such dog.