Series: CITY ORDINANCE
Aggressive Dogs
ORDINANCE N. 99-66
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6 OF THE
REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD RESPECTING THE PROHIBITION
AND REGULATION OF “AGGRESSIVE DOGS”
BE IT ORDAINED by
the City Council of the City of Englewood, in the County of Bergen and State of
New Jersey as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 8 of the Revised General Ordinances
of the City of Englewood pertaining to “Animals” is hereby amended to add
thereto Article 4 to read in full as follows:
“Article 4.
Prohibition and Regulation of “Aggressive Dogs”
6-30 Definitions. As
used in this Article, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
A. “Aggressive dog” means any dog which
has been trained or bred to be hostile, threatening or belligerent, or as a
guard dog or attack dog, or for the purpose of fighting or engaging in
unprovoked attacks upon persons or other domestic animals, and shall include,
but way of a rebuttable presumption, pit bulls and Rottweilers as hereinafter
defined.
B. Pit bull means the following designated
breeds of dog:
1)
The bull
terrier breed of dog, as defined in accordance with the standards of the
American Kennel Club.
2)
The
Staffordshire bull terrier bred of dog, as defined in accordance with the
standards of the American Kennel Club.
3)
The American
pit bull terrier breed of dog, as defined with the standards of the American
Kennel Club.
4)
The American
Staffordshire terrier bred of dog, with the standards of the American Kennel
Club.
5)
Dogs of mixed
breed or of other breeds than above listed, which breed or mixed breed is known
as “pit bull”, “pit bull dog”, or “pit bull terrier”.
6)
Any dog which
has the appearance or characteristics of being predominantly of the breeds of
bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American pit bull terrier, American
Staffordshire terrier, any other breed commonly known as “pit bull”, “pit bull
dogs” or “pit bull terrier” or a combination of any of these breeds.
C. Rottweiler means the following
designated breeds of dog:
1)
The breed of
dog commonly known as Rottweiler, as defined in accordance with the standards
of the American Kennel Club.
2)
Dogs of mixed
breed or of other breeds than above listed, which breed or mixed breed is known
as Rottweiler.
3)
Any dog which
has the appearance or characteristics of being predominantly of the breed of
Rottweiler, any other breed commonly known as Rottweiler.
6-31. Keeping of “Aggressive Dogs”
It shall be
unlawful to keep, harbor, own or in any manner possess within the corporate
limits of the City of Englewood any “aggressive dog”, provided that “aggressive
dogs” residing with their owners in the City of Englewood on the date of
passage of this Article may be kept within the City of Englewood, subject to
the standards and requirements hereinafter se forth.
6-32. Regulations for Keeping of “Aggressive Dogs
“Aggressive dogs”
residing with their owners in the City of Englewood at the time of the passage
of this Article may be kept by their owners within the City of Englewood,
subject to the following standards:
A. “Aggressive dogs” residing with their
owners in the City at the time of passage of this Article must be registered
with the City by the owners thereof within ten(10) days of passage of this
Article and annually thereafter on or before January 31 of each year for so
long as such ownership of such dog is maintained within the City of Englewood.
B. Leash and muzzle. No person shall permit an “aggressive dog”
to go outside its kennel or pen unless such dog is securely leashed with a
leash no longer than three (3) feet in length and having a minimum tensile
strength sufficiently is excess of that required to restrain the dog’s
movements to a radius of not more than three (3) feet by an adult 18 years of
age or older and being capable of exercising and having direct supervision and
control of said dog. No person shall
permit an “aggressive dog” to be kept on a chain, rope or other type of leash
outside its kennel or pen unless a person is in physical control of the
leash. Such dogs may not be leashed to
inanimate objects, such as trees, posts, buildings, etc. In addition, all “aggressive dogs” on a
leash outside the animal’s kennel must be muzzled by a muzzling device
sufficient to prevent such dog from biting persons or other animals.
C. Confinement. All “aggressive dogs” shall be securely confined indoors or in a
securely enclosed and locked pen or kennel, except when leashed and muzzled as
hereinabove provided. Such pen, kennel or structure must have secure
sides and a secure top attached to those sides, shall be a minimum of six (6)
feet in height and shall be constructed of a chain link fence. All structures used to confine “aggressive
dogs” must be locked with a key or combination lock when such animals are
within the structure. Such structure
must have a secure bottom or floor attached to the sides of the pen, or the
sides of the pen must embedded in the ground no less than two (2) feet. All structures must be adequately lighted
and ventilated and kept in a clean and sanitary condition.
D. Confinement indoors. No “aggressive dog” may be kept on a porch,
patio or in any part of a house or structure that would allow the dog to exit
such building on its own volition. In
addition, no such animal may be kept in the house or structure when the windows
are open or when screen windows or screen doors are the only obstacle in
preventing the dog from exiting the structure.
E. Signs.
All owners, keepers or harborers of registered “aggressive dogs” within
the City of Englewood shall, within ten (10) days of the effective date of this
Article, display in a prominent place of their premises a sign easily readable
by the public using the words “Beware of Dog” - “aggressive dog”. In addition, a similar sign is required to
be posted on the kennel or pen of such an animal.
F. Insurance. All owners, keepers or harborers of “aggressive dogs” must,
within ten (10) days of the effective date of this Article, provide proof to
the City of Englewood of public liability insurance in a single-incident amount
of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for bodily injury to or the death of
any person or persons and in the amount of twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars
for damage to property which may result from the ownership, keeping or
maintenance of such animal. Such
insurance policy shall provide that no cancellation of the policy will be made
unless twenty (20) days’ written notice is first given to the City of
Englewood.
G. Identification photographs. All owners, keepers or harborers of
registered “aggressive dogs” must, within ten (10) days of the effective date
of this Article, provide to the City Clerk two (2) color photographs of two (2)
different poses of the animal, clearly showing the color and approximate size
of the animal.
H. Reporting requirements. All owners, keepers or harborers of
registered “ aggressive dogs” must, within ten (10) days of one or more of the
following occurrences, report the following information, in writing, to the
City Clerk as required hereinafter:
1)
The removal
from the City or death of the “aggressive dog”.
2)
The birth of
offspring of an “aggressive dog”.
3)
The new
address of an “aggressive dog” owner, should the owner move within the City
limits.
4)
Any injury to
any person or other domestic animal in which the “aggressive dog” was involved.
I. Sale or transfer of ownership
prohibited. No person shall sell,
barter or in any other way dispose of an “aggressive dog” registered within the
City to any person within the City unless the recipient person resides
permanently in the same household and on the same premises as the registered
owner of such dog, provided that the registered owner of an “aggressive dog”
may sell or otherwise dispose of an “aggressive dog” or the offspring of such
dog to persons who do not reside within the City.
J. Animals born of “aggressive
dogs”. All offspring of “aggressive
dogs” registered within the City must be removed from the City within six (6)
weeks of the birth of such animal.
6-33. Hearing
A. At the request of the police
department, Board of Health, or any individual, the City Manager, or his/her
designee, shall cause a preliminary investigation to be made to determine
whether a particular dog is an “aggressive dog” and shall afford both the
complainant and the owner of such dog, if known, an opportunity to present, in
writing, such evidence or information which is relevant to such issue.
B. Upon completion of such preliminary
investigation, the City Manager shall advise the complainant and the owner of
such dog, if known, of his preliminary determination whether the dog is an
“aggressive dog”.
C. Any person aggrieved by the preliminary
determination of the City Manager may request a hearing before the City Manager
as to a determination whether the dog is an “aggressive dog” as defined
hereunder by submitting a written request therefore to the City Manager either
personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, within seven (7)
days following receipt of such preliminary determination.
D. If a hearing is requested, the City
Manager, or his/her designee, shall schedule a hearing to determine whether the
dog is an “aggressive dog” as defined hereunder.
E. Any presumption that the dog may be an
“aggressive dog” may be rebutted by the submission of a certification from a
licensed veterinarian of the State of New Jersey that the dog is not of the
breed or mixed breed defined as an “aggressive dog” hereunder.
6-34. Failure to Comply
Any dog found to be
the subject to a violation of this Article shall be declared a public nuisance
and shall be subject to immediate seizure and impoundment.
6-35. Penalties
Any person
violating any provision of this Article shall be subject to a fine in an amount
not less than One Hundred and no/100 ($100.00) dollars nor more than One
Thousand and no/100 ($1000.00) dollars or imprisonment for a term not in excess
of ninety (90) days, or both.
6-37. Exceptions
The provisions of
this Article shall not apply to dogs used for law enforcement activities by a
law enforcement agency or for dogs used for security purposes upon non-residential
private premises, provided that such dogs are kept and maintained within such
locked and secured non-residential premises or within an area upon such
non-residential premises enclosed by a locked fence of not less than six (6)
feet in height and that a warning be posted indicating that such premises are
guarded by dogs used for security purposes.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
Section 3: If any sentence, section, clause, or other portion of this ordinance, or
the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall for any reason be
adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment
shall not affect, impair, or repeal the remainder of this ordinance.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after passage and
final publication as required by law.
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