Community Corner
The New Year Means New Dog License
Forgetting to renew your dog's license might be easy to do but use this as a reminder.
This is an easy one to slip through the cracks. Every year, dog owners are expected to renew their dog's license. And every year many of the most conscientious dog owners forget.
Dog licenses are generally available during the month of December for the next calendar year. But as we all know, the holidays are usually the busiest time of year, as we are all trying to remember so much.
"It's really amazing, but I come across people who don't realize that they need to come in and get their dog a license," said Officer Debbie Reed. "The get their dog the rabies vaccination and they think that is the license."
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To get your dog's updated license, all you need is a certificate from your vet that shows your dog is immunized against rabies. The rabies vaccine lasts three years, so you may need to contact your vet for a copy of the documentation. Your dog's rabies vaccine must be good for another six months in order to receive a new dog license. For instance, if your dog is due for his or her vaccine in April, you must first get that taken care of before you can purchase a 2011 license.
A dog license serves a couple of purposes. First, it lets anyone who finds your dog know that he or she does not carry rabies. Second, it provides an easy way for local authorities to contact you should your dog get loose. This, of course, is any dog owner's nightmare—that their dog would be found and taken to a shelter.
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"Having a license makes it easier for you to be reunited with your dog should he get out," Officer Reed added. "Also, if your dog got out and bit somebody, we would know right away that rabies is not an issue. What if you're out of town and your dog is staying with someone else and gets out and bites someone. You might be completely unaware of what is going on. If your dog has a license we know he has an owner so we won't adopt him out or take him to the shelter."
So work it into your calendar to get your dog's 2011 license. It makes everyone's life easier, safer and, potentially, happier.
