[Adopted 9-9-1991 by Ord.
No. 445 (Ch. 57, Art. III, of the 2005 Code of Ordinances)]
[Amended 10-7-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-683]
It shall be the duty of the owner, custodian or keeper of any
dog, except when such dog is within the designated enclosed boundary
of the Borough of Bath Paw Park, cat or domestic animal to keep at
all times such an animal:
A.
Confined within the premises of the owner, custodian or keeper;
B.
Firmly secured by means of a collar and chain or other device so
that it cannot stray beyond the premises on which it is secured;
C.
Under reasonable control of some person, or when engaged in lawful
hunting of field training accompanied by an owner or handler;
D.
To keep pets of any kind from entering upon any park areas in the
Borough of Bath, with or without the owner, custodian or keeper of
such pets;
E.
To insure that any dog six months of age or older must be licensed
by the County of Northampton;
F.
If any such pet shall be kept in a dwelling owned or occupied by
its owner, such owner shall be required to follow such procedures
and practices, as to the number of such pets to be kept there and
as to sanitation, to insure that no public nuisance shall be created
or maintained and no threat to the health of persons living elsewhere
within such dwelling shall be created;
G.
If any such pet shall be kept in an enclosure outside such dwelling,
said animal shall be kept confined in quarters no part of which shall
be closer than 25 feet from the exterior limits of any dwelling of
any property line.
A.
Any dog or cat in the Borough of Bath must be up to date on rabies
inoculations. At the request of any police officer or animal control
officer, proof of license and/or inoculation must be shown. In the
event that no proof is shown, it will be assumed that there is no
license and/or inoculation for the dog or cat, and a citation will
be issued.
B.
It shall be within the discretion of any police officer or animal
control officer to kill any animal which is found running at large
and unaccompanied by an owner, custodian or keeper and which is deemed,
after due consideration by the police officer or animal control officer,
to constitute an immediate threat to the public health, safety and
welfare.
No persons owning, harboring or in charge of any animal shall
allow such animal to soil, defile, defecate or commit any nuisance
on any sidewalk, passageway, bypath, play area, park 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. The restrictions in this section shall not apply to
that portion of the street lying between the curblines, which shall
be used to curb such animals under the following conditions:
A.
The person who so curbs such an animal shall immediately remove all
feces deposited by such animal by a sanitary method;
B.
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated area shall be
disposed of by the person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of any animal so curbed in accordance with the provisions of this
article, in a sanitary method;
C.
It shall be unlawful for any property owner to permit the accumulation
of any animal waste on any residential property within the Borough
of Bath.
A.
It shall be the duty of any police officer or animal control officer
to seize and detain, either upon view or information, any animal running
at large, either upon the public streets, ways or places in the Borough
of Bath, or upon the property of other than the owner, custodian or
keeper. Such animal shall be conveyed to the place designated by the
Borough Council as the pound, where such animal shall be properly
kept and fed.
B.
Provided any dog so seized and detained bears a proper license tag,
immediate notice, either personal or by certified or registered mail,
shall be given to the person in whose name the license was issued
to claim such dog within seven days. Any dog or animal so seized and
detained may be redeemed by the owner, custodian or keeper thereof
within the time specified by law, upon payment of charges incurred
by reason of such seizure and detention.
C.
In the event a licensed dog or any other animal, seized and detained,
is not claimed after the given time period allowed in this article
by the owner, custodian or keeper of such dog or animal, the dog or
animal will be taken, after the seven day notification period, to
the Northampton County SPCA.
D.
Any police officer or animal control officer shall have the authority
to enter any premises within the Borough of Bath and seize any animal
which is sick or injured and is, in the opinion of the animal control
officer or police officer, not being properly cared for or where any
animal is in any way being maltreated to the extent that the animal's
health is threatened. Such animal shall be provided with adequate
shelter and shall be given whatever professional care that is needed
to restore it to health. Such animal shall be provided with adequate
shelter and shall be given whatever professional care is needed to
restore it to health or to dispose of the animal, if a licensed veterinarian
determines it is necessary to do so. The cost of the care, or of disposal,
shall be borne by the owner of the animal. The owner of any animal
seized under this section shall have the right to have the animal
returned at such time adequate steps have been taken to guarantee
the proper care for the animal and provided there is no history of
animal abuse by the individual. The owner of a seized animal shall
initiate the return of the animal by filing with the Police Department
a Request of Seized Animal Form. Such form shall detail the steps
taken by the owner to guarantee the future safety of the animal. This
form shall be reviewed by the Chief of Police or Animal Control Officer
of Bath, who shall determine whether the animal shall be returned.
In the event that the owner does not wish the return of the animal
or where there is a history of animal abuse or where the owner refuses
to take reasonable steps to guarantee the future safety of the animal,
the Animal Control Officer shall take appropriate steps to place the
animal.
No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge of any animal
shall cause, suffer or allow such animal to make noise to the extent
that it becomes a nuisance to other people. Such noise shall be considered
a nuisance when the residents of two or more separate households file
complaints. However, any police officer or animal control officer
may, in the absence of two separate complaints, deem the noise created
by any animal to be a nuisance if the noise is in his presence and
he considers it to be a substantial infringement upon the rights of
peace of residents of the neighborhood.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, before any Magisterial District Judge of
the County of Northampton, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less
than $100 nor more than $300 and the costs of prosecution for each
and every offense, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs,
shall undergo imprisonment in the Northampton County Prison of a period
for not more than 10 days.
