[Adopted 9-7-1967 as Ch. VII of the Revised General Ordinances]
Pursuant to Chapter 151 of the Laws of 1941 of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.1 et seq.), any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age, as defined in that act, within the limits of the City of Trenton shall, in the month of January and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the Division of Health a license and official metal registration tag for each 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 any dog which attains licensing age shall make application for a license and registration tag for the dog within 10 days after acquisition or age attainment.
Applications for dog licenses shall be made to the Division of Health and shall contain the information required by the aforesaid act. The Division of Health shall forward to the State Department of Health and Senior Services each month, on forms furnished by that Department, the information contained in the application.
All registration numbers shall be issued in the order of the application. The license forms and uniform official metal registration tags designed by the State Department of Health shall be issued by the Division of Health, be numbered serially and bear the year of issuance.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91; 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 10-21-2010 by Ord. No. 10-45]
A. 
Any person applying for a license and registration tag shall pay an annual fee of $12 for each dog licensed, the sum of $1 for the registration tag for each dog, and the sum of $0.20 for each dog license. In addition, there shall be an additional fee of $3 for each dog which has not had its reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization.
B. 
Dogs used as guides for blind persons, commonly known as "Seeing Eye dogs," hearing-ear dogs and service dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of such dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.
C. 
An additional fee of $15 shall be made for anyone applying for a dog license renewal on or after the first day of February of each year.
D. 
A charge of $3 shall be made for the replacement of a dog license tag after the applicant has provided proof or sufficient evidence that the initial license was issued for the dog in question.
E. 
In addition to any fees imposed by this or any other section, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-31, the annual fee to license any dog declared "potentially dangerous" pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-23 shall be $700.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
No person owning, keeping or harboring any dog, male or female, shall permit it to run at large or to accompany him/her on or in any public street or public place within the City at any time unless such dog shall wear a substantial muzzle of adequate size securely fastened about the nose and covering the whole mouth, except that a dog shall be permitted on or in the streets or public places within the City without such muzzle if it is on a leash not exceeding three feet in length and is under the control of a competent person above the age of 14 years, so as to prevent injury to persons or property, and provided that such dog is not of a vicious propensity. Police canine corps dogs under the direct control and supervision of Police Department personnel shall be exempt from the provisions herein.
No owner of a female dog shall suffer or permit her to be in or upon any street, highway or alley or other public place in the City, or to trespass upon the property of other persons in the City at any time while such female dog may be in heat. Such female dog running at large or trespassing in violation of this section may be impounded and destroyed, as provided in this chapter, not less than seven days after her capture or seizure unless the owner shall reclaim her within the aforementioned said seven-ay period and pay the penalty for violation of this article.
A. 
No dog owner shall suffer or permit any dog to annoy neighbors and other persons living within the immediate vicinity in the City by barking and howling, nor permit his/her dog to trespass upon the property of any other persons in the City, nor suffer or permit his/her dog to damage shrubbery, flowers, gardens or any other property of any kind or character belonging to any neighbor or other person in the City. A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog or dogs shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public or on a fence, wall or stairway of a building abutting on a public place.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. II of this chapter, Removal of Canine Waste.
B. 
Any police officer shall, upon receipt of a complaint of a continuing annoyance or trespass, use reasonable diligence to determine independently the existence of the annoyance or trespass and to issue appropriate warnings to persons deemed to be responsible. After using appropriate warnings, the officer shall sign a complaint and issue a citation to any person (s)he finds to be in violation of this section.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91; 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 10-21-2010 by Ord. No. 10-45]
A. 
Whenever any licensed dog wearing a registration tag is impounded, the Animal Control officer shall immediately notify the Division of Health of the license number of the dog, and the Division of Health shall notify the owner forthwith that the dog has been taken up and impounded and will be offered for adoption or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after service of the notice. Any dog seized under the provisions of this section may be redeemed by the owner of the dog upon payment of a pickup fee of $20, a six-in-one vaccine of $5, plus a sum not to exceed $4 per day for each day the dog is kept in the dog shelter, provided that such redemption shall be made within seven days of the impounding or seizure of any dog as provided in this section.
B. 
Adoption fees shall be as follows:
(1) 
Male cat: $100.
(2) 
Female cat: $100.
(3) 
Male dog: $120.
(4) 
Female dog: $120.
[Added 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-26, the fee for boarding and maintenance of any dog deemed by the Municipal Court to be either vicious or potentially dangerous is hereby fixed at $25 per day plus any out-of-pocket costs expended for medical care and related items. The fee to euthanize and dispose of any dog declared vicious or potentially dangerous shall be $75.
The Health Officer of the City of Trenton shall annually cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned, kept or harbored within the limits of the City and shall cause a report of the result thereof to be filed with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, setting forth the details of compliance as provided in the New Jersey statutes.
No person in the City shall own, possess, harbor or have in custody any dog over six months of age unless the dog has been vaccinated against rabies by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey. Such vaccination shall be repeated annually, unless a longer period of protection is specified on the veterinarian's certificate of vaccination, to consist of one injection of rabies vaccine approved for marketing in accordance with existing standard requirements set forth by the Veterinary Biology Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided that any dog may be exempt from the requirement of vaccination for a specified period of time upon the presentation of a certificate from a duly licensed veterinarian stating that by reason of limitations of the vaccine as applied to the physical condition of the animal, the vaccination of the dog for a specified period of time is contraindicated, and provided further that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the vaccination of any dogs located in and confined to duly recognized and licensed kennels, dog pounds, pet shops, etc., where dogs are offered for sale, as provided by the laws of the State of New Jersey.
[Amended 10-18-2001 by Ord. No. 01-91]
A. 
Any person owning, harboring or having custody of a dog or dogs shall obtain from the veterinarian who vaccinates the dog or dogs against rabies a certificate and shall within 10 days of the vaccination or within 10 days after bringing the dog into the City of Trenton, if the dog was vaccinated before being brought into the City, deliver the certificate to the Division of Health, which certificate shall be filed with the records of the Health Officer.
B. 
No license required for the owning and keeping of dogs, by virtue of any law of the State of New Jersey or ordinance of the City of Trenton, shall be issued to any person unless a certificate issued by a duly licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey, as hereinabove provided, is presented to and filed with the Division of Health so showing that such dog has been vaccinated against rabies in the manner provided herein, which certificate shall show and certify that vaccination has been made and said vaccination has a duration which extends throughout at least 10 of the 12 months of the licensing period.
The Health Officer is hereby authorized and empowered to provide free vaccination of dogs at a suitable clinic and place designated by him/her to be conducted by a licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey. The Health Officer is hereby further authorized and empowered to make and adopt such rules and regulations not inconsistent nor in conflict with the terms and provisions of this chapter as (s)he may deem proper and necessary for the enforcement of the aforementioned sections.
A. 
License required. Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound shall apply to the City Clerk or a license to keep or operate such establishment. The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the Health Officer of the City of Trenton, showing compliance with local and state rules and regulations governing the location and sanitation of the establishment.
B. 
Issuance. All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop or shelter shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained and shall expire on the last day of January of each year and shall be subject to revocation by the City on recommendation of the State Department of Health and Senior Services or the Health Officer of the City for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department of Health and Senior Services or of the Health Department of the City of Trenton, after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the state department or local department aforementioned. Any person holding such license shall not be required to secure individual licenses for dogs owned by the licensee and kept at such establishments; such licenses shall not be transferable to another owner or to different premises.
C. 
Fees. The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or a fewer dogs shall be $10 and for more than 10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged for a shelter or pound.
D. 
Biological research laboratories. No person or business association shall operate or engage in the business of a biological research laboratory or any similar business activity for profit or not for profit and regardless of state or federal certification without first procuring an annual license from the City Health Officer for such purposes, the annual fee for which shall be $35. The license for biological research laboratories shall apply to all activities which involve the housing or keeping of animals of any description including dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, rodents or other species for the purpose of subjecting them to any form of experiment or observation for any purpose whatsoever other than for individual therapy in the manner normally associated with the practice of veterinary medicine. A person or business association having procured a license to conduct such activities shall be exempt from any and all requirements provided by the Code of the City of Trenton which would otherwise require the separate licensing of each animal or the procuring of any other form of license pertaining to the keeping of animals or birds. The term "biological research laboratories" shall not be construed to include the activities normally associated with the operation of a pet shop or veterinary hospital, unless the activities actually conducted by such persons or business associations constitute the operation of a biological research laboratory in addition to the activities of a pet shop or veterinary hospital. The issuance of any license hereunder shall be subject to the initial and any subsequent inspections by the Division of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services with respect to the maintenance of sanitary conditions consistent with the interests of the public health of the City of Trenton.
E. 
Recording of license. The City Clerk shall forward to the State Department of Health and Senior Services a list of all kennel, pet shops, shelters and pounds licensed within 30 days after the licenses therefor are issued, which list shall include the names and addresses of the licensees and the kinds of licenses issued.
All license fees collected or received under the provisions of this chapter, except registration tag fees, shall be received and disposed of in the manner provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-5.1 et seq.
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-5.1 et seq., violations of the provisions of this article shall be punishable as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, General Penalty.