NJ: Borough delays new cat, dog limits

Borough delays new cat, dog limits
Sunday, June 27, 2010
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE
The Record
STAFF WRITER

PARK RIDGE — The Borough Council has decided to postpone amending its dog and cat ordinance, which would cap the number of dogs and cats at four and set a three-month limit for how long a resident can keep a foster pet.

Mayor Donald Ruschman made the announcement at Tuesday's Borough Council meeting, before a planned public hearing on the amendment.

He said the council wanted to get more information, which would be forwarded to the Board of Health.

Students from Woodcliff Lake who are members of an animal rescue club and residents attended the meeting to protest the section of the ordinance that would deal with foster cats and dogs.

Some carried signs that read, "Fostering Saves Lives. What have these animals done to you?"

Lynn Gregorski, president of Halfway Hounds, a borough-based non-profit that places rescued pets with foster families while looking for permanent homes for them, asked the council to change the three-month limit for foster cats and dogs.

She wants the council to extend the limit to six months, with an option to renew if the pet is not adopted within that time.

It can take 30 days for a dog to settle into a home, she said. For some dogs, because of their breed or medical condition, adoption can take a longer than three months, Gregorski said.

"For a dog that's been neglected or abused, sometimes, these foster homes are the first time they have been in a safe and nurturing place," she said. "If that animal isn't placed at the three-month mark, the very last thing you want to do is to remove them from that environment and create added stress on them."

Resident Karol Licht, who says she has rescued dozens of animals through the years, asked the council to consider the effect the ordinance would have on local shelters if foster families could only keep them for three months.

Review began last year

The opposition also wants the borough to grandfather-in any established foster family with a large number of pets, require licensing only if an animal is not adopted after three months and review the ordinance to ensure it does not conflict with state law.

The municipality started reviewing the dog and cat ordinance last year, after the Board of Health recommended that a limit be placed on the number of dogs a resident can have, Borough Attorney Robert Mancinelli said.

Residents can have only three cats, while there are no limits on the number of dogs under the current ordinance.

In the revision, a new clause on animal cruelty and inhumane treatment of dogs has been added. Residents also would have to make sure that their dogs do not cause injury to anyone, disturb the peace or become a public nuisance.

The borough is currently conducting a pet census, Borough Clerk Kelley O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell said that 385 residents have registered dogs or cats this year. They registered 451 dogs and 20 cats, she said.

Regulations applying to all other pets will remain in place. Lions, tigers and other large animals are still banned.

Sheep and goats cannot be kept as domesticated pets. Cows are still allowed — but on properties bigger than 40,000 square feet per animal, excluding the residential structure, and they must be kept at least 30 feet from the nearest property line.

E-mail: superville@northjersey.com

NorthJersey.com: Borough delays new cat, dog limits