License your pet, or else

The city just issued a reminder that it’s patrolling parks and neighborhoods to check for licenses.

Bikefor1 February 29, 2008 (4:56 pm)

So if a dog is found licensed but wandering loose, can/will the city ticket the owner? And what about loose dogs with no licenses, hmmm?

miws February 29, 2008 (6:12 pm)

Let’s hope they’ll also be enforcing leash laws where appplicable.

Mike

WSB February 29, 2008 (11:02 pm)

I have a call out (not expecting a callback till Monday) to the city’s animal shelter director – we’ll see if he has answers to these questions.

LisaM March 1, 2008 (2:16 pm)

I can help answer questions as I am a long-time shelter volunteer:
If a dog is found found wandering loose with a license, the owner is not ticketed as long as the dog got loose by accident. They will try to reunite the dog with the owner by calling the number connected to the license. If they have to take the dog to the shelter, then the owner is charged a daily boarding/care fee for every day the dog is there until picked up.
In fact, I had a recent experience here in WS where a neighbor found a loose dog that had been hit by a car w/a license but no other tags. I called the shelter and was able to get to the owners asap (who were frantic)and they raced off to the ER. It made me realize the importance of a license!

karen March 1, 2008 (3:27 pm)

Those tags are also handy to good samaratans. More than once I have come across a dog that seems lost. The ones with a collar are easy to call the people or vet listed and reunite without resorting to animal control.

Mikev2.0 March 3, 2008 (10:16 am)

I don’t understand the difference (ignoring that its “illegal”) between a pet license and a “dog” tag with a phone number with respect to fluffy running away and being retrieved.

ALS March 3, 2008 (1:54 pm)

Mike, anyone can make a tag with the dog’s name on it and a phone number for a couple dollars at Petco. Licenses aren’t designed for retrieving lost dogs – you’re required to register your pets just as you register your vehicle. That’s where the license comes in.

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