Passaic County, NJ Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

" The same article bars puppies under four months of age from the dog park entirely, and layers on the article's other access conditions, dogs must be current on mandatory New Jersey vaccinations (rabies, distemper, leptospirosis, Lyme and Bordetella), wear a collar with license tags, and be accompanied by an owner at least fifteen years old who carries a leash and remains with the dog at all times. Read together, these sections function as an entry checklist that Parks staff and the Parks Director enforce at the dog park gate: an unaltered dog past six months of age, like an unvaccinated or unleashed one, does not meet the conditions for admission to the facility.

Because this is a park-property ordinance adopted under the county's statutory authority over park grounds and facilities, the spay/neuter condition reaches only dogs entering a Passaic County dog park, it is not a general county mandate that every dog owned in Passaic County be sterilized, which would fall outside county authority under New Jersey's home-rule structure.