I pay $19 a year for each dog. We get a new tag every year. And they need the new tag because they get very worn.

 

I wish my city had a lifetime fee, that would be sweet. It's $10/dog yearly and $20 if you don't renew it by May 1st. Before last year it was only $15 if you didn't pay by May 1st.

 

Looove my little towns!! $5 for the year if the animal is fixed, $7 if it is intact.

 

Ours is $3 if the dog is s/n, $8 if intact.

 

I don't pay a license fee at all.

In New York's animal laws, there's a clause exempting any service dog, therapy dog, search and rescue dog, detection dog, or war dog from having to pay licensing fees. You just show them whatever certification your dog has (like SAR or a Therapy Dog ID card) and they give you your tag but you don't pay a fee.

 

Service dogs are free, and they fee is half priced for senior owners (not senior dogs).

Liftetime fee was great. Paid it once and forgot about it, plus it was cheaper.

 

Ya, i totally see it as a money grab. Dax isn't licensed. I guess that makes me a bad owner. I would do it if I could do a lifetime one, but don't feel an annual one is worth it.

 

Ya, i totally see it as a money grab. Dax isn't licensed. I guess that makes me a bad owner. I would do it if I could do a lifetime one, but don't feel an annual one is worth it.

If it is the law, than you are being irresponsible. We had to raise our license fees to $10 because people just did not bother to license their dogs. When the dog warden needed a new truck, instead of getting the dead-beat-dog owners to pay their part, they just stuck it to those of us who pay every year. Owning a dog is a privilege not a right.

I wish that when they did BSL, they would exempt current licensed dogs. People who did not bother, their dogs can go. Ok, so it is just an irritable point with me. Since no one is going to walk up to you and demand to see your dog's license, there is absolutely no reason to NOT disobey the law. If your dog does do something, and you admit ownership of the dog, then they can issue a fine. A fine of what? Here it is twice the normal fee. Big deal. I would be $500 ahead of the game as the dog warden has never asked me about my dogs' licenses for over ten years.

We continue to pay for them year after year because it is the right thing to do. There is a tax on dog ownership, and if you want to own a dog, then you have to take part in paying. Generally the money goes to purchasing the tags, paying the auditor's department to distribute licenses and keep paperwork, paying the dog warden, paying for housing strays for a set time period, and so much to compensate owners of livestock in the event that dogs have killed or injured their animals. lf everyone who owned dogs in this county paid their part maybe we could have a shelter with all indoor runs, maybe we could afford to vet the dogs at our shelter rather than putting down a hundred or so young dogs because of a parvo outbreak. Maybe our county could run a shelter rather than everything totally dependent on volunteers.

It is frustrating to hear people proudly exclaim that they do not license their dog. It does not cost that much.

 

Our city dog tax here is $4.00 annually. There is no difference in the price for un-altered pets.

 

Dang,wish they did a lifetime one here where I live..*sigh* In my town its $8 for dogs that are s/n and $13 for un altered dogs and the fee is due every December I think. The fine for getting caught with an unlicensed dog is around $230-$320..My friend has a Shih-Tzu that is 3 yrs old and she has never gotten him licensed..until after he ran away and I found out that he wasn't and had told her that she better hope that she gets to her dog first before AC or the police cuz she would get stuck with that huge fine..Found her dog about 2 hours later and the next day she was up at the public works building(think thats what its called) getting him licensed

 

The City of Waterloo did a lifetime license at one time, they no longer offer it. When I was in Kitchener I think it was $20-30, I can't remember how much it is here, $20 or $30? I gotta get the new dogs and pay $10 to get a replacement for Oz's It made it a week on his collar.

 

Ours is kind of screwy. It's $12 per dog, for a 3 year term, but the terms are set. For example, the current term runs from Aug 1 2009 to July 31 2012. If you move to town in the middle of the term (or at the end) you pay the same $12 fee as I did at the beginning of the term.
No one seems to be able to explain that to me, but I guess for $4 a year, it's not that big a deal.

Only a local government (or any government) would come up with something that goofy.

 

I don't mind paying an administration fee for licensing fees for my pets, and I love the lifetime fee option. I think the fine for an unlicensed pet should be than it is. I do mind paying $20.00 a year to help recover the costs of running the human society just because I own a pet.

To me that cost should be shared amoungst all members of society and should be added to our property taxes, just like schools, libraries, community centres, parks, wadding pools, children's playgrounds, greenspaces, etc. The human society is a public service.

Yes my property taxes will go up, but the shelters will have more money to pay for the costs of caring for lost, stray, injured animals. Instead of looking for $20.00 a year from a handful of people (small % actually license their pets) funding will be much greater and the human society will be able to do so much mroe.

 

I would gladly pay more in licensing fees (I pay $7 per year per neutered/spayed dog, no new tag every year), if it meant that the town had more money for enforcing the local leash laws.

 

I pay $4.00 a year in November because Deuce is neutered. Non fixed dogs it's $12.00.

 

Here in Lakewood its $14 for s/n a year and $28 a year for unaltered dogs.

I do it because its the LAW. If you can't afford the BASIC requirements for a dog such as proper food, clean water, medical care, and proper shelter and grooming, and can't follow laws in regards to owning then you shouldn't own a dog.

Like Selzer said, owning a dog is a privilege, not a right. If you abuse it you get that privledge taken away.

 

Like Selzer said, owning a dog is a privilege, not a right. If you abuse it you get that privledge taken away.

So you would rather see those animals in shelters than loving homes? Even if those homes can't afford the vet visits/license fee?

If this happened, there would be even more dogs in shelters than now. Its not a realistic view. I understand the view, I used to have it. Maybe because in school we have a course that teaches us not to judge people's situations I am now the odd one out on this. I now understand that we can never truly understand another person's situation because we are not in it. Anyways, I have said this a few times now, and clearly no one else sees this point, so I won't bother arguing it anymore.

Anyone who uses that argument is really not being realistic about how things are.

And yes, its a bylaw. Does everyone know all their city's bylaws? I would be very surprised to find that no one here has broken one.

 

sharkey, you initially stated that you don't pay licensing fees.

I stated that I felt that people should factor licence fees in when they get a dog. You stated that you work at a vet hospital and you can't force people to pay for things like licenses. You said:

We can all talk until we are blue in the face about looking into costs before getting a dog, but people will still get them whether or not they have what we consider "enough" money.

But... let's not talk about "people." Let's talk about you. I assume you are a responsible dog owner because you seem to care a lot about not just your own dog, but homeless dogs in shelters, other people's dogs that might not be properly cared for, etc.

Well, all I'm trying to say (and perhaps other posters as well) is that a part of responsible dog ownership is paying the license fees, regardless of financial situation or your feeling on whether the fees are necessary.

 

It sounds like the penalty for not buying a license is so low and the risk of ever being caught is so low, that it simply does not make sense for you to pay for the license. I guess if I chose that route, I wouldn't broadcast it if I did not want people who do pay for it every year to get angry.

In Ohio the dog warden cannot go to your house and ask to see your license unless they are called there for some other infraction. At least in Ashtabula County that is the case. So the chances are you will not get caught.

But just because the penalty is whimpy and the chance of getting caught is minimal, is that a sufficient reason to refuse to follow the law?

I think that they should go after those who refuse to pay and charge them 10 times the annual licensing fee, and they should go back 5 years. So if your dog is 4 and your annual fee is $40, and you never bought the dog a license, then your fee should be $1600. If you do not pay it, it connects to your income taxes. Then people would just go ahead and pay the $40 license -- then it would be worth it.

 

But just because the penalty is whimpy and the chance of getting caught is minimal, is that a sufficient reason to refuse to follow the law?

Ok. So is it safe for me to assume here that everyone has followed every law their whole lives? No one has driven a little over a speed limit? Driven with one headlight/taillight? Filed their taxes a little late? Left some dog poop on their own property to clean up the next day/after winter? Have their dog bark during the day? Technically all of those are breaking the law where I live.

 

I feel so lucky, we dont have to license our dogs where I live. If it wasn't much though I wouldn't mind paying it so long as, like someone said, it was split up like everything else.

 

Our licenses are going to double next year...from 10 to 20 for altered and 20 to 40 for intact. I don't mind paying it...it helps support our county shelter.

My county is very poor, and not many even license their dogs in the more rural area's. Many of the strays that are in the shelter, are tied out dogs that have freed themselves in some way, usually have worn collars, dragging chain. Owners won't claim them because they will be fined(not licensed) So they get euth'd if a rescue doesn't pull them.
I know this increase will have even more not licensing.
The other nearby counties are higher. My county is finally getting on board to stay consistent with them.

 

See this is another thing, with my city, they do not tell you at all about where the money for licensing goes. If it goes to shelters, I would hope they would be more transparent about that instead of just saying "you must pay this...but we won't say for what..."

 

Above the moral obligation to license one's dogs, I also look, it's a free trip home. My dogs are well contained, always leashed unless recall is proven... But no one is perfect, we use sitters, leads break, collars break, idiots open your gate. Something happened, those tags are on, my dog comes home. Without me worrying about the $200-300 fee for not having my dog licensed to claim him back, or it's a weekend and I can't find his papers and the vet is closed and they want to make sure he has shots... Or they are going to do them and bill me or keep him til I can prove paperwork... It's peace of mind.

 

No licenses for me, thanks. I don't live in a city or town, and the county doesn't require a license.

 

No license required for me either. Yay! Neither city nor county require a license around here.
I buy ID tags, and a microchip, for my dog--seems like it would do the same thing as a license tag only without the anual fee.

 

Just noticed that my city has changed the way they are issuing dog licensing tags. Used to be for $30.00 and a microchip I could buy a life time license for my neuterd dog. The thinking and promotion was that they want the animal licensed incase the pet is lost they are easily identified.

Now the life time fee is gone and the annual fee for a neutered dog is $20.00. You keep the tag and pay a renewal fee annually.

I am not a lawyer, much less a Canadian lawyer...

I would assume if you've got a lifetime license, you would be grandfathered into the new program and not need to pay the annual fee. Especially since it's an actual law, and not a consumer product or service.

Then again, I'm not familiar with how Canada works, but as an American, if that happened to me and I was expected to pay the annual fee to remain licensed, I'd be throwing red flags up all around.

 

Yes those that bougt lifetime tags are grandfathered. Bought them for my dog and my two cats.

I'm just objecting to the change of policy and the reason behind it. It's 20.00 for a neutered dog or cat. It's more than double if your pets are not neutered.

I dont mind paying an administration fee, which the lifetime fee really was. I wouldn't mind if the penelities were upped for not having a licence or for breaking the leash laws etc.

Get the ones that break the law.

 

I'm just objecting to the change of policy and the reason behind it. It's 20.00 for a neutered dog or cat. It's more than double if your pets are not neutered.

I may be the "odd man out" if you will, but seeing how i'm pro spay/neuter I appreciate the fact that the fee is double for unaltered pets. Just sayin'

 

Not withstanding the debate about whether the fee should be paid or not, I skimmed it...

Luckily, even though I live in a large city, our county doesn't require a dog license.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't pay a higher fee for an intact dog (IE: the poster who said it was going from 20 to 40 for an intact animal). So IF we had a license program, I wouldn't claim an intact dog (though as of two wks ago, I no longer have any intact dogs...last one was finally old enough to go under the knife). I know their reasoning is that intact animals cause more problems for the city therefore taking up more resources, but my intact Malinois didn't cause them one single penny, so I wouldn't just roll over and pay it.

That said, our vet is in a different county and they have all sorts of rules and regulations about mandatory speutering. Must be speutered by 6 or 9 months or some craziness like that and there are fines and regulations that go along with the vet even treating an unaltered animal over that age if you live in that county. Not sure what I'd do if that was an issue here, given that I don't speuter puppies. Thankfully I do most of my own vet care, outside of major medical and operations obviously.

 

In the areas that do not have licensing laws, how do officials make certain that rabies vaccines are UTD? Where I live, licensing is mandatory and to get one you must show proof of vaccination.