As used in this article the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Releasing, leaving or refusing to pick up or claim any animal which
one owned, possessed or had in one's custody or control.
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses
a set of permanent teeth.
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or
selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
One or more animals born to a female animal.
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.
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a
kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
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.
A.
The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay a fee in the amount provided for in Chapter 94, Fees; and for each annual renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag. Said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January in each year.
[Amended 10-3-1977 by Ord.
No. 77-37]
B.
Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known
as "Seeing Eye" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs as hereinabove
provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required
to pay any fee therefor.
[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.
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.
A.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color
and markings of the dog for which license and registration are sought; whether
it is of a long- or short-haired variety; and the name, street and post office
address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog.
B.
The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three years by
the authorized municipal licensing official. Registration numbers shall be
issued in the order of the applications.
C.
The authorized municipal licensing official shall forward
to the State Department of Health each month, on forms furnished by the said
Department, an accurate account of registration numbers issued or otherwise
disposed of.
A.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the municipality any dog licensed in another state for the current year and bearing a registration tag and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the municipality for a period of more than 90 days shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless a license for such dog is not required pursuant to § 78-10.
B.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought into the municipality any unlicensed dog and shall keep the same or permit the same to be kept within the municipality for a period of more than 10 days, unless on the premises of a licensed veterinarian, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for each such dog, unless a license for such dog is not required pursuant to § 78-10.
A.
No person, except an officer in the performance of his
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.
B.
No licensed dog shall be allowed off the
premises of the person harboring or keeping the dog without the registration
tag attached to its harness or collar.
A.
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish
a kennel, a pet shop, a shelter or a pound shall apply to the authorized municipal
officer for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
All licenses issued for such establishments shall state the purpose for which
the establishment is maintained, shall expire on the last day of June of each
year and shall not be transferable to another owner or different premises.
[Amended 12-4-2000 by Ord.
No. 00-12]
B.
Any person holding such license shall not be required
to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by such licensee and kept at
such establishments.
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.
A.
License or other fees collected under the provisions
hereof, except those paid to the state, shall be turned over to the Treasurer
within 30 days of collection. The fees collected shall be accounted for and
spent in accordance with N.J.R.S. 4:19-15.11, as amended.
B.
Such portion of this license fee as is required by law
shall be forwarded to the State Department of Health.
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.
A.
The Animal Wardens or other persons designated by the
governing body shall take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into
custody and impounded, and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as hereinafter
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 off the premises of the owner or of the person
keeping or harboring said 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 said dog.
(4)
Any dog upon the public or private streets or in any public place not accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years and not confined or controlled as prescribed by § 78-25.
(5)
Any dog kept in a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound off such establishment and not confined or controlled as prescribed by § 78-14.
(8)
Any dog which the owner or person keeping or harboring
said dog wishes to dispose of and to which he renounces ownership, custody
and control, in writing.
B.
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 said dog
is known, the person authorized by the governing body shall forthwith serve
on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the
person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice in writing or by
phone stating that the dog 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 Subsection B of this section may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or by phoning that person at his address 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 mail 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 dog so seized has been detained for seven days
after notice, when notice can be given as above set forth in this section,
or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when notice has not been
and cannot be given as above set forth in this section, and if the owner or
person keeping or harboring said dog has not claimed said dog and paid all
expenses incurred by reason of its detention, or if the dog be unlicensed
at the time of the seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring said
dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the Animal
Warden may cause the dog to be destroyed in the most humane manner possible.
E.
When any dog shall be delivered under Subsection A(8) of this section, no notice to the owner shall be required unless the person delivering the said dog is someone other than the owner, in which event the foregoing procedure shall be followed; if the person delivering the said dog is the owner, the Animal Warden or any other person so authorized may forthwith destroy the dog in the most humane manner possible.
[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.
A.
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, in any public building or in any other public place within the municipality
or on anyone's private property other than the dog owner's property.
B.
When a dog has been impounded for running at large, the
Animal Warden shall file a complaint of this violation in the Municipal Court.
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.
A.
No person shall keep within the limits of the municipality
any vicious dog. Any vicious dog found within the limits of the municipality
may be seized by any police officer or by the Animal Warden and shall be impounded
as specified; provided, however, that if any dangerous, fierce or vicious
dog is found at large and cannot be seized, taken up and impounded, such a
dog may be slain by any police officer.
B.
Where a dog has bitten two or more persons or has bitten
one person on two or more occasions, any person may make a complaint against
the owner of such a dog. Such complaints shall be handled by the Municipal
Court. If the Court so determines the dog in question to be a vicious dog,
said dog shall be destroyed or muzzled at the discretion of the Court.
[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.
