Borough of South Plainfield, NJ Article I Licensing and Control of Dogs

[Adopted 10-13-1964 as Art. 1 of Ch. 3 of the 1964 Code (Ch. 74, Art. I, of the 1982 Code)]

§ 146-1 Definitions.

A. Definitions. The words hereinafter defined shall have the meaning herein indicated for the purpose of this article as follows:

BOROUGH

The Borough of South Plainfield in the County of Middlesex.

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.

OWNER

When applied to the proprietorship of a dog, includes every person having a right of property on such dog and every person who has such dog in his keeping.

PERSON

Any individual, corporation, partnership, organization or institution commonly recognized by law as a unit.[1]

[Added 3-14-1991 by Ord. No. 1231]

[1] Editor's Note: The former definitions of "pet shop," "pound" and "shelter," which immediately followed this definition, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

B. Word usage.

(1) The words "and" and "or" may be used interchangeably, and either of the two may be applicable, whichever is more conducive towards the effectuating of this article.

(2) Personal pronouns shall mean either the singular or the plural, whichever is applicable and conducive towards the effectuating of this article.

(3) The masculine, feminine or the neuter gender shall be implied, whichever is appropriate and conducive for the effectuating of this article.

§ 146-2 License required.

Late Fees

After January 31st Late Fees will accrue by the month

2014-04-07

Pet License Application

Click Here For Form:

2013-09-16

No person shall keep or harbor any dog of licensing age within the Borough of South Plainfield in the County of Middlesex without first obtaining a license therefor, to be issued by the Borough Clerk upon application by the owner and payment of the prescribed fee, and no person shall keep or harbor any dog in said Borough except in compliance with the provisions of this article.

§ 146-3 Application for license; registration tag.

Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall, in the month of January and annually thereafter, apply for and procure from the Borough Clerk 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.

§ 146-4 Fees.

[Amended 12-23-1968; 12-28-1981; 12-12-1983; 4-14-1994 by Ord. No. 1352; 2-23-1995 by Ord. No. 1390; 2-1-2010 by Ord. No. 1873]

A. The person applying for the license and registration tag for a dog shall pay the annual fee of $15 for a spayed/neutered dog or the annual fee of $20 for a nonspayed/nonneutered dog. Said license, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire on the last day of January each year. If a dog license tag has been misplaced or lost, the Board of Health or the Office of the Borough Clerk may issue a duplicate dog license tag for a fee of $5 per dog.

[Amended 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 2180]

B. Dogs used as guides for blind persons and commonly known as "Seeing Eye" dogs, dogs used to assist handicapped persons and commonly known as "service dogs" and dogs used to assist deaf persons and commonly known as "hearing ear" dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owners or keepers of such dogs shall not be required to pay any fee therefor.[1]

[1] Original § 74-5, Newly acquired dogs, original § 74-6, Contents of application, original § 74-7, Dogs brought into Borough, original § 74-8, Removal of registration tag, original § 74-9, Licensing of dog establishments, original § 74-10, Fees for kennels and pet shops, and original § 74-11, Dogs kept in kennels, which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted 2-1-2010 by Ord. No. 1873.

§ 146-5 Pound authorized; impoundment and redemption.

A. The Council may from time to time by resolution establish a pound and the Mayor may from time to time, as the occasion may require, nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the Council appoint a poundkeeper, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Council, or the Council may by resolution enter into a contract with any humane society in the Borough or county or other similar association not organized for pecuniary profit as poundkeeper for the collection, keeping for redemption and destruction of all strays found within the municipal limits in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such poundkeeper or duly authorized agent of such humane society so contracted with or any police officer may seize and take into custody and impound or cause to be taken into custody and impounded and thereafter destroyed or disposed of as 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 person keeping or harboring said dog.

(4) Any dog which shall be permitted to run at large upon the public streets or in any public park or in any public building or in any other public place within the Borough of South Plainfield contrary to § 146-8.

B. If any dog so seized wears a collar having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person or registration tag or the owner or the person keeping or harboring the said dog is known, the person who by this article is authorized to seize and who by this article has so seized any dog shall forthwith serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring the 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.

C. A notice under 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.

D. When any dog so seized 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 no notice has been given as above set forth, and if the owner or person keeping or harboring the said dog has not claimed the said dog and paid all reasonable expenses incurred by reason of its detention, including the sum of $1 for the seizure and maintenance of the said dog for the first 12 hours and the sum of $0.50 for each additional day thereafter, and if the dog is unlicensed at the time of seizure and the owner or person keeping or harboring the said dog has not produced a license and registration tag for said dog, the said poundkeeper or agent of the said humane society, or any person authorized under this article to do so, may cause the dog to be destroyed in manner causing as little pain as possible.

E. It shall be the duty of the poundkeeper or agent of the humane society, as the case may be, to keep male and female dogs separated at all times, and it shall be the further duty of said poundkeeper or agent of the humane society to segregate and keep segregated all sick animals and animals suspected of being affected with any communicable disease; and every dog so seized or impounded shall be kept, fed and kindly treated by the said poundkeeper or agent of the humane society for the period of time as herein provided.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original § 74-13, Disposition of license fees, as amended, original § 74-14, Report of kennel, pet shop, shelter and pound licenses, original § 74-15, Annual canvass of dogs, and original § 74-16, Power to impound dogs, which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 146-6 Hindering performance of duty.

No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with anyone authorized or empowered to perform any duty under this article.

§ 146-7 Barking dogs.

[Amended 8-16-1990 by Ord. No. 1212]

No person shall keep, harbor or maintain any dog which habitually barks or cries. For purposes of this section, a dog which barks or cries continuously for periods of five minutes at a time shall be considered a dog which habitually barks or cries.

§ 146-8 Regulation of dogs off premises.

A. No dog shall be allowed to leave the premises of the person owning or entitled to the custody of such dog in said Borough unless the dog is securely confined upon a leash and/or muzzled and accompanied by a person over the age of 12 years.

B. The Mayor may designate times during which dogs outside the premises shall be confined by an adequate leash, such designation to be by publication at least three times in a newspaper in which legal notices of the Borough may be published, and after such publication no person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit it upon a public highway, public place or outside the premises occupied by the owner, during the period designated, unless such dog is securely confined by an adequate leash.

§ 146-9 Dogs committing nuisances.

[Added 4-14-1975]

A. No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog shall cause, suffer or allow such dog to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park or school ground or any place where people congregate or walk, or upon any public property whatsoever, or upon any private property without the permission of the owner of said property.

B. Any person who allows such dog to soil, defile, defecate on or commit any nuisance on any area designated in Subsection A shall immediately remove the feces deposited by such dog by any sanitary method approved by the local Health Department.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

C. The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with the provisions of this article, in a sanitary manner approved by the local Health Department.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

D. This provision shall be governed under the penalty provisions provided in § 146-12 hereinafter set forth.

§ 146-10 Property damage.

No person owning, keeping or harboring a dog shall permit or suffer it to do any injury or to do any damage to any lawn, shrubbery, flowers, grounds or property.

§ 146-11 Vicious dogs; penalties.

A. Any dog which has attacked or bitten any human being or which habitually attacks other dogs or domestic animals is hereby defined to be a vicious dog for the purposes of this section. It shall be the duty of the Chief or Acting Chief of the Police Department to receive and investigate complaints against dogs, and when any dog complained against shall be deemed by such Chief or Acting Chief of the Police Department to be a vicious dog as herein defined, the said officer shall report the facts to the Police Court Judge of the Borough of South Plainfield, who shall thereupon cause the owner or person harboring such dog to be notified in writing of the complaint against such dog and to appear before said Police Court Judge at a stated time and place. The Police Court Judge at the time set for such hearing shall inquire into the facts and give all interested persons an opportunity to be heard, under oath, and to be represented by counsel, and the Police Court Judge shall decide in accordance with the evidence before him, and if the Police Court Judge shall decide that such dog complained of is a vicious dog as defined by this section, notice of such decision shall be given to the owner or person harboring such dog. No dog which has been so determined to be a vicious dog shall be permitted to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Borough of South Plainfield except while securely confined by an adequate leash as provided by this article.

B. Any person who shall permit any dog to run at large or be upon any street or public place in the Borough of South Plainfield except while securely confined by an adequate leash, as provided by this article, after said dog has been determined to be a vicious dog, as provided in this section, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $25 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 days, or to both, in the discretion of the court.

§ 146-12 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 8-16-1990 by Ord. No. 1212[1]]

Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.19, any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of this article shall, upon conviction, be subject to one or more of the following: a fine of not to exceed $2,000, a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or a period of community service not to exceed 90 days.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).