East Windsor Dog ordinance 7-8 Regulations and penalty

East Windsor Dog ordinance

7-8        Regulations.

      No person shall own, keep or harbor a dog in the township except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the following regulations.

      7-8.1     Wearing of Registration. Each dog which is required by the provisions of this chapter to be licensed shall wear a collar or harness with its registration tag securely fastened thereto.

      7-8.2     Use of Registration Tags. 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 its owner, nor shall any person attach a registration tag to a dog for which it was not issued.

      7-8.3     Interference with Official Duties. No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this chapter.

      7-8.4     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.

      7-8.5     Running-at-large. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it to run at large on any public property or to run at large on private property without permission of the owner of such property.

      7-8.6     Leashing Control. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it to be on any public property or any private property without permission of the owner of such property if the dog is not securely controlled by a leash.

      7-8.7     Property Damage. No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it to do any injury, or to do damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.

      7-8.8     Nuisances Prohibited; Curbing of Dogs; Responsibility of Owner. No person owning, or in charge of any dog shall allow such dog to defecate upon any public or private property whatsoever, except with the expressed authority or permission of the owner of said property. The restriction in this subsection shall not apply to the portion of the street lying between the curblines which may be used to curb such dogs provided that the person who so curbs such dog shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog by placing the feces in a closed bag or other container and depositing same in a trash receptacle which is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector, or disposed into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper treatment and disposal.

7-1        Definitions.

      As used in this chapter:

      "Dog" shall mean any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.

      "Dog of licensing age" shall mean any dog which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth.

      "Vicious dog" shall mean any dog which has been declared by a municipal judge to be a vicious dog which has attacked or bitten any human being, or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals.

      "Kennel" shall mean any establishment where the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except, a pet shop.

      "Pet shop" shall mean any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, where dogs for sale are kept or displayed.

      "Pound" shall mean an establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.

      "Shelter" shall mean any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed without charge.

      "Owner," when applied to the proprietorship of a dog, shall mean and include every person having a right of property in such dog and every person who has such dog in his keeping.

      "Keeper" shall mean any person exercising control over a dog or permitting a dog to remain on premises under his control.

5-8        Penalty.

      5-8.1     Maximum Penalty. For violations of any provision of this chapter, any other chapter of this revision, or any other ordinance of the township where no specific penalty is provided regarding the section violated, the maximum penalty shall, upon conviction of a violation, be one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding two thousand ($2,000.00) dollars, or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days, or to a period of community service not exceeding 90 days at the discretion of the municipal court judge. Penalties for housing and zoning violation in excess of one thousand two hundred fifty ($1,250.00) dollars shall not be imposed unless the owner of the property was provided with a 30 day period to cure or abate any violations and the owner of the property was afforded the opportunity for a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction to determine if the abatement of any violation has been substantially completed. (N.J.S.A. 40:49-5)

      5-8.2     Separate Violations. Except as otherwise provided, each and every day in which a violation of any provision of this chapter or any other ordinance of the township exists shall constitute a separate violation.

      5-8.3     Application. The maximum penalty stated in this section is not intended to state an appropriate penalty for each and every violation. Any lesser penalty, including a nominal penalty or no penalty at all, may be appropriate for a particular case or violation.