As used in this article:
To seize with the teeth or jaws so as to enter, nip or grip
the person or thing seized; also to cut, wound, pierce or to impress
deeply the person or thing seized.
Any male or female dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
Any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which
possesses a set of permanent teeth.
When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every
person having a right to property in such dog and every person who
has such dog in his keeping.
No person shall own, keep or harbor any dog
within the Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this
article, and unless he first obtains a license and official metal
registration tag therefor issued by the Borough Clerk upon application
by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee.
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog
of licensing age in the Borough shall, in the month of February in
each year, apply for and procure from the Registrar a license and
official metal 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.
The owner of any newly acquired dog of licensing
age or of any dog which attains licensing age shall apply for a license
and registration tag for such dog within 10 days after such acquisition
or age attainment.
A.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Borough 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 Borough for a period of more than 90
days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for
each such dog.
B.
Any person who shall bring or cause to be brought
into the Borough any unlicensed dog and shall keep the same or permit
the same to be kept within the Borough for a period of more than 10
days, shall immediately apply for a license and registration tag for
each such dog.
A.
The application shall state the breed, sex, age, color
and markings of the dog for which the license and registration are
sought, and whether it is of a long-haired or short-haired variety;
the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person
who shall keep or harbor such dog.
B.
Registration numbers shall be issued in the order
of the application.
C.
The information on said application and the registration
number issued for the dog shall be preserved for a period of three
years by the Borough Clerk. In addition, the Clerk shall forward to
the State Department an accurate account of registration numbers issued
or otherwise disposed of.
A.
The person applying for the license and registration
shall pay to the Borough Clerk a fee of $7 for the licensing and registration
tag of each dog. Each license and tag shall be renewed annually; and
for each annual renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration
tag shall be the same as the original license and registration tag.
Said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire
on the last day of January in each year.
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.
A.
License fees and other moneys collected or received
under the provisions of this article, except registration tag fees,
shall be forwarded to the Borough Treasurer within 30 days after collection
or receipt.
B.
Such fees and other moneys shall be placed in a separate
account from any of the other accounts of the Borough, and shall be
used only for the purposes permitted by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.11.
C.
The registration tag fees shall be forwarded by the
Borough Clerk, within 30 days after collection, to the State Department
of Health and Senior Services, as prescribed by N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.11.
License forms and uniform official metal registration
tags designed by the State Department of Health and Senior Services
shall be furnished by the Borough Clerk and shall be numbered serially
and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the Borough.
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.
A.
The Borough Council shall have the power to appoint:
(1)
An Animal Control Officer whose duties it shall be
to enforce the provisions of this article; and
B.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
as limiting the authority of the Health Officer or Chief of Police
or members of the Police Department to enforce the provisions of this
article when in the interest of health and safety they deem it necessary.
The Board of Health of the Borough, or such
other person designated for the purposes by resolution of the Mayor
and Council, shall cause an annual or biennial canvass to be made
of all dogs and cats owned, kept or harbored within the limits of
the Borough, and shall, on or before September 1 of each year, make
reports to the Borough Clerk, the Board of Health of the Borough,
and the State Department of Health and Senior Services of the result
thereof, setting forth in separate columns:
A.
The names and addresses of persons owning, keeping
or harboring such dogs.
B.
The number of licensed dogs owned, kept or harbored
by each of said persons, together with the registration numbers of
each of said dogs.
C.
The number of unlicensed dogs owned, kept or harbored
by each of said persons, together with the complete description of
each of said unlicensed dogs.
The Chief of Police, or any other person authorized
or employed by the Borough for that purpose, shall take into custody
and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded, the following:
A.
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 has reason to believe is a stray dog.
B.
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.
C.
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner
or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
A.
If any dog seized as provided in § 119-14A to C and any dog seized as provided in § 119-14D wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person, or a registration tag, or if the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog is otherwise known, the Chief of Police or any person authorized by him in that behalf shall forthwith serve or cause to be served on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or on the person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice in writing 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.
B.
The notice referred to in Subsection A of this section 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.
C.
When any dog seized in accordance with § 119-14A to C and any dog seized in accordance with § 119-14D has been detained for seven days after notice, when notice can be given as above set forth, or has been detained for seven days after seizure, when notice has not been and cannot be given as above set forth, 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, including maintenance not exceeding the daily rate charged by the Animal Control Officer or other authorized person by the Borough in accordance with the terms of the contract and resolution relating to the keeping and holding of dogs, entered into by the Borough for the year within which said dog is impounded, and 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 Chief of Police or any person authorized by him in that behalf or authorized by the Borough may cause the dog to be destroyed in a manner recommended by the American Veterinarian Medical Association.
Any person or agent authorized to 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 he 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.
A.
No person shall keep or harbor any dog in the Borough
except in compliance with the provisions of this article.
B.
No more than four dogs of licensing age shall be kept,
maintained or harbored at one time for any length of time in any residential
housing unit or on its grounds or in any business establishment or
on its grounds. This restriction shall not apply to properly licensed
kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters. The provisions of this section
shall become effective after passage and publication as prescribed
by law.
C.
No person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any dog shall suffer or permit such dog to soil or defile or to
commit any nuisance upon any sidewalk, street or thoroughfare, in
or upon any public park, playground or other public place of public
property, or in or upon the property of persons other than the owner
or person having the care, custody or control of such dog. The above-mentioned
restrictions shall not apply to that portion of the street lying immediately
adjacent to the curbline or street edge, which portion shall be used
to curb said dog, excepting therefrom driveway space, crosswalks or
corner crosswalks.
D.
No person owning or having the care, custody or control
of any dog shall suffer or permit such dog to:
(1)
Soil or defile or do any injury or damage to any lawn,
vegetable garden, shrubbery, trees, flowers, driveway, ground or any
property of persons other than that of the owner or person having
the care, custody or control of such dog.
(2)
Cause any injury to any person.
(3)
Bark, cry, whine, howl or otherwise disturb the peace
or quiet of the neighborhood or sleep of any person for any unreasonable
length of time.
(4)
Be or become a public nuisance or to create a condition
hazardous to safety and health.
E.
The habitual barking, howling, whining or crying of
a dog or dogs in the Borough of Dumont is hereby declared to be a
disturbing noise within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40:48-1, Subsection
8, and a nuisance.
F.
Removal of feces.
(1)
No person owning or in charge of any dog shall cause
or allow such dog to soil, defile, defecate on, 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 public
property whatsoever, or in or upon the property of persons other than
the owner or the person having the care and custody of such dog.
(2)
Any person owning or in charge of any dog which soils,
defiles, defecates on, or commits any nuisance on any common thoroughfare,
sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park, or any place where
people congregate or walk, or upon any public property whatsoever,
or in or upon the property of persons other than the owner or the
person having the care and custody of such dog, shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by any such dog in a sanitary manner, except
that if any dog defecates on the private property of the owner of
such dog or on the property of the person having the care and custody
of said dog, said person shall, within a reasonable time, remove all
feces in a sanitary manner.
(3)
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated
areas shall be disposed of by the person owning or in charge of any
such dog in a sealed, nonabsorbent, leakproof container.
(4)
Any person who violates the provisions of this section
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $50
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days, or both.
No person owning, keeping, harboring or having
the care, custody or control of any dog shall suffer or permit it
to run at large. Every dog shall be led by a chain, cord or other
leash in the hands of a person capable of leading and controlling
such dog.
A.
No person shall be cruel or inhumane to a dog, said
cruelty and inhumanity consisting of beating, torturing, mutilating,
cruelly killing or clearly failing to provide food, drink or shelter
for a dog or abandoning any dog of which he has charge either as owner
or otherwise.
B.
No person owning, keeping, harboring or having the
care, custody or control of any dog shall abandon such maimed, sick,
infirm or disabled animal or creature to die.
See N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 et seq. for statewide regulations
on vicious dogs. The fee for a license for a potentially dangerous
dog shall be $150.
A.
No person shall own, harbor or keep any dog within
the Borough which is not currently inoculated against rabies; provided,
however, that animals which have not attained the age of six months
shall not be required to be inoculated, and further provided that
any animal may be exempt from the requirements of such inoculation,
for a specified period of time, by the Board of Health upon the presentation
of a certificate from a veterinarian stating that because of identity
or other physical condition, the inoculation of such animal for said
specified period of time shall be deemed inadvisable by said veterinarian.
B.
Inoculations shall be made by a duly licensed veterinarian
of the State of New Jersey or such other person permitted by law to
make the same and approved by the Borough Board of Health.
C.
Whenever a dog or other animal is infected with rabies
or suspected of being infected with rabies, or has been bitten by
an animal infected with rabies or suspected of being infected with
rabies, the person owning or having the care, custody or control of
any such animal, or any person having knowledge or suspicion of such
infection, shall notify the Borough Board of Health and/or the Chief
of Police of the Borough or the person in charge of the Police Department
at the given time immediately. Any such report shall be reduced to
writing at the request of the Board of Health of the Borough of Dumont.
D.
If a dog or other animal is known or believed to have
rabies or has been bitten by a dog or other animal known or suspected
of having rabies, the owner of such animal shall be notified in writing
to have the animal confined for a period of not less than six months,
or such lesser period specified by the State Department of Health
and Senior Services, and placed under observation of a veterinarian
at the expense of the owner for such period.
E.
Any animal confined under order of the Borough Board
of Health shall not be released until a certificate of release has
been issued by the Board.
F.
Whenever it becomes necessary to safeguard the public
from the danger of rabies, the Mayor, upon recommendation of the Borough
Board of Health, shall issue a proclamation ordering every person
owning or keeping a dog or other animal to confine it securely on
his premises unless such animal shall have a muzzle and leash of sufficient
strength to prevent the biting of any person.
G.
Any such animal running at large during the time of
the proclamation shall be seized and impounded, unless noticeably
infected with rabies.
H.
All dogs or other animals so noticeably infected with
rabies and displaying vicious propensities shall be killed by the
Animal Control Officer or Chief of Police, or any other authorized
person, after a written diagnosis of infection by a veterinarian of
the State of New Jersey.
I.
The Animal Control Officer or Chief of Police, or
any other authorized person, shall promptly notify in writing the
Borough Board of Health and the owner, if known, of the killing and
reason for the killing of any dog or other animal in accordance with
the provisions of this section.
A.
The owner of any dog or other animal that shall have bitten, scratched or caused injury to any person, or otherwise violated the provisions of this article, shall be issued a complaint in violation of this article. Any violation under this section shall be deemed a separate violation for each animal and each incident and shall not be considered as the same offense for any other section herein. Upon the evidence presented and after an examination by a licensed veterinarian, if the Municipal Court Judge, or other Judge authorized by law, shall deem it necessary for the safety of the public, he may order the animal destroyed or order muzzling and/or confinement, and impose a penalty as set forth in § 119-46. However, upon a conviction of a third offense, the animal shall be destroyed.
B.
This section shall not be construed to affect a violation
or fine of any other section herein; nor does it in any way affect
the rights of the Police or the Board of Health to require quarantine
and examination of any animal.
