June is Dog License Renewal Month!

Dog owners who license their pets as required during June are not only helping to ensure their dog’s safety, but are contributing to the health of other dogs in need of vaccination and sterilization through the Dept. of Agriculture’s Animal Population Control Program (APCP).

State law requires that all dogs over six months old must be licensed through local town clerks, and all licenses expire annually on June 30.

The license fee is $8 for a dog that has been spayed or neutered, and $19 for an unaltered dog.

Owners receive a new license tag for the upcoming year to attach to their dog’s collar.

The tags’ color and shape changes each year, allowing animal control officers to determine if a dog’s license is current.

While licenses are commonly and correctly thought of as “a lost dog’s ticket home,” many owners may not understand that a portion of the license fee also produces vital funding for the APCP, which has provided vaccination/sterilization services for more than 200,000 animals since its’ inception in 1994.

The APCP is a dedicated account that offers vaccination/sterilization benefits to pets being adopted from municipal facilities and those owned by low-income Connecticut residents, as well as feral cats being helped by non-profit organizations.

It is estimated that in the past 20 years the APCP has helped to reduce impounded pets by about 40 percent, and euthanasia of dogs and cats by about 70 percent.

Having fewer pets in municipal pounds has prompted significant budget savings for cities in towns due to lower costs associated with feeding, housing and euthanasia.

Licensing also encourages owners to have their dogs vaccinated for rabies, because proof of a current rabies vaccination status is required in order to issue a license. 

Compliance with the licensing requirement, however, has declined in recent years, and it is estimated that only about 25% of owners license their dogs annually.

Owners of unlicensed dogs may be issued a $75 fine by Municipal Animal Control Officers, and the fine for having an unvaccinated dog or cat is $136.

Dog licenses may be purchased at local town clerks’ offices. Applications may also be downloaded at www.ct.gov/doag/apcp and mailed to the town clerk’s office.

 

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Submitted by Stamford, CT

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