Dog Attack Leads to New Leash Law

Wyckoff dogs will need to be on a 10-foot or shorter leash when accompanying their owners to township parks if a pair of ordinances introduced Tuesday night is adopted by the Township Committee.

According to Committee members, a recent dog attack prompted the township’s Animal Control Officer to recommend stricter language in the town’s laws governing dogs in public places.

A dog, “running at large” at Russell Farms Community Park attacked another dog, township officials said of the incident. The animal was injured and taken to an animal hospital for treatment, officials said. The dog’s current condition is unknown.

Tuesday night, the Committee introduced an updated ordinance that, if passed, would require all residents to put their dogs on a 10-foot or shorter leash whenever off their own personal property.

In the old ordinance, dogs needed to be “under control,” when in public places. The new law uses much more specific language.

“Dogs…may be walked by a person competent to properly manage and control the actions of said dog, only if such dog is securely confined and controlled by an adequate leash not more than 10 feet long,” the proposed ordinance reads. 

Committeeman Haaken Jepsen said the new wording is “more clear” than it is in the current dog ordinances, which “just imply” that leashing is mandatory.

Another proposed ordinance also added Russell Farms Community Park to the list of township parks that allow leashed dogs. The other three are sections of Wyckoff Community Park, the Larkin House, and the access area and parking lot of the Memorial Field Complex.

The Committee is expected to vote on the proposed ordinances at a future meeting.