By David Kilby, Staff Writer
MONROE — The township recently passed an ordinance that spells out the difference between what it considers “vicious” as opposed to “potentially dangerous” dogs and also requires a special license for those dogs the Municipal Court defines as “potentially dangerous.”
The ordinance was passed at a special meeting of the Township Council on Dec. 27.
The issue of amending the former law came up after a pit bull ran through an electric fence and killed a pet rabbit early in 2010. The dog was sent out of Monroe by the owner, Councilman Michael Leibowitz said.
The former law said that any dog that attacked a human at least once within the past year or attacked and seriously injured another animal more than twice within a year must be declared vicious.
The amended law states the court will declare a dog as vicious if there is evidence it killed or seriously injured a human without being provoked or if the dog was engaged in dog fighting activities.
If an animal control officer has reason to believe a dog is vicious, the officer must bring the dog to the Municipal Court so the court may decide whether the dog is vicious or just potentially dangerous.
A potentially dangerous dog is defined as one that has injured a human without being provoked, has killed or seriously injured another animal or is trained to attack people without being provoked.
If the court declares the animal as vicious, the animal will be put down unless the owner makes an appeal.
If the court declares a dog as potentially dangerous, the owner must apply for a potentially dangerous dog license if the owner chooses to keep the dog.
The Township Council further amended the ordinance at the Dec. 27 council meeting, reducing the price for a potentially dangerous dog license from $700 to $300 per year.
Formerly, the owner of a dog declared as vicious had to pay $175 per year.
If the dog is defined as potentially dangerous, the dog must not be left unattended and must always be in the owner’s control. The owner also must place a sign visible from 50 feet stating the dog is potentially dangerous.

