ARTICLE IKeeping and Control of Animals (§ 84-1 — § 84-8)
§ 84-1Definitions.
§ 84-2Keeping of large animals.
§ 84-3Keeping of domestic animals.
§ 84-4Control of dogs.
§ 84-5Pet waste.
§ 84-6Animal neglect; cruelty.
§ 84-7Animal bites.
§ 84-8Violations and penalties.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
- ANIMAL
- Any large or small animal, domestic animal, fowl, wild animal or domestic pet.
- DOMESTIC ANIMAL
- Any animal normally or ordinarily domesticated or raised in this area and climate as livestock or for work or breeding purposes or normally or ordinarily kept as a household pet.
- HOUSEHOLD PET
- Any dog, cat or other domestic animal normally and ordinarily kept in or permitted to be at large in the dwelling of its keeper.
- LARGE ANIMAL
- Any wild or domestic animal of the bovine, equine, porcine, goat or sheep family.
- PERSON
- Any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation, and, as used in this article, the singular shall include the plural, the plural shall include the singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine.
- SMALL ANIMAL
- Any domestic or wild animal, such as a rabbit, hare, guinea pig, rat, mouse or chinchilla; and any wild or domestic fowl, such as a chicken, turkey, goose, duck or pigeon, excepting homing pigeons.
- WILD ANIMAL
- Any animal, including but not limited to bird, fowl or reptile, not normally or ordinarily domesticated, not normally or ordinarily raised in this area and climate as livestock or for work or breeding purposes, or not capable of being kept as a household pet.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any large animal within the limits of the Borough.
It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any domestic animal within the limits of the Borough, except household pets, which shall be permitted only if the following measures are followed:
Unless kept in the keeper's dwelling, such animals shall be kept confined in an enclosure sufficient to prevent such animal from running at large, and such enclosure shall be of a size conducive to good sanitary practices, sanitary drainage facilities, and adequate for the size of the animal confined therein.
Every keeper of any animal shall cause the litter and droppings therefrom to be collected daily in a container or receptacle that, when closed, shall be ratproof and flytight; after every such collection shall cause such container or receptacle to be kept closed; and at least once a week cause all litter and droppings so collected to be disposed of in such a manner as not to permit the presence of fly larvae.
Every keeper of any animal shall cause all feed provided therefor to be stored and kept in a ratproof and flytight building, box, container or receptacle.
Every keeper of a domestic pet or pets in or about a dwelling shall insure that no public or private nuisance shall be created or maintained and no threat to the health of persons living elsewhere than on such property shall be created because of the maintenance of such pet or pets thereon or therein.
It shall be unlawful for any keeper of a domestic dog to fail to exercise proper control of his dog to prevent it from becoming a public nuisance by excessive, continuous or untimely barking, molesting passersby, chasing vehicles, habitually attacking other domestic animals, trespassing upon private or public property and/or running at large.
It shall be unlawful for any keeper of a domestic dog or cat to fail to remove immediately from any public or private property, including sidewalks, streets or other public places, any droppings, litter, waste or fecal excrement deposited thereon by the keeper's animal.
It shall be unlawful for any keeper of a domestic animal to abandon such animal or fail to provide the animal with sufficient good and wholesome food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather, veterinary care when needed and with humane care and treatment, nor shall any keeper of a domestic animal beat, cruelly ill treat, torment or otherwise abuse or cause to be abused any such animal.
Any domestic animal that bites a person shall be quarantined by the keeper for a period of 10 days, if ordered by the officer in charge of the Police Department, and shall follow the following procedures:
During quarantine, the animal shall be securely confined and kept from contact with any other animals.
At the discretion of the officer in charge of the Police Department, the quarantine may be on the premises of the owner, or, if the officer in charge requires other confinement, the keeper of the animal shall surrender the animal for the quarantine period to a dog shelter or shall, at the keeper's expense, place the animal in a veterinary hospital.
If a diagnosis of rabies is made by a licensed veterinarian while the animal is in quarantine, the animal shall be destroyed and the head of the animal sent to a laboratory for pathological examination and confirmation of the diagnosis.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Borough are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
