WHEREAS, Lonnie
and Sandy Lehrer, legal residents of the Borough of Haworth, in
the County of Bergen, State of New Jersey (the "Owners"), are owners
of a dog, also known as "Taro", which dog has been ordered destroyed
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 to -37; and
WHEREAS, the
above-cited statute provides for proceedings in the form of hearings
to determine whether a dog meets certain criteria prior to it being
destroyed; and
WHEREAS, the
proceedings established by the above-cited statute are similar to
those established by forfeiture statutes, which apply to personal
property; and
WHEREAS, domestic
animals may be properly and appropriately characterized as personal
property for purposes of forfeiture; and
WHEREAS, Article
V of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey provides, among
other things, that the Governor may remit forfeitures; and
WHEREAS, N.J.S.A.
2A:167-5 provides that any person who has suffered a forfeiture
may make application for the remission of such forfeiture, "which
application the governor may grant by order signed by her!"; and
WHEREAS, the
Owners have made application to the Governor to remit the forfeiture
of Taro and good cause has been shown to warrant the granting of
such application;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The forfeiture
of Taro, which would result if said dog were destroyed pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 4:19-17 to -37, is hereby remitted so long as the
Owners certify and agree to the following within 30 days of the
date hereof: (a) that Taro has been physically removed outside
of the borders of the State of New Jersey and shall so forever
remain; (b) that the new owners shall have had no prior ownership
interest, either actual or asserted, in Taro; and (c) that the
present and new owners shall accept any and all liability of whatever
nature in connection with the ownership of Taro and the dog's
future acts, with no legal recourse whatsoever to the State of
New Jersey, County of Bergen and Borough of Haworth and all officers,
employees and agents of said State, County and Borough.
2. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN
under my hand and seal,
this 28 th day of January in the
Year of Our Lord, one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-four and
of the Independence of the United
States, the two hundred and eighteenth.
/s/Christine
Todd Whitman
GOVERNOR
Attest:
/s/Peter Verniero
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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