Danville's new dog license policies prove popular

Danville’s new flexible options for dog licenses have had a positive reception from the dog-owning public, according to City Treasurer Lynwood Barbour.

When a dog gets its first rabies shot, the owner can license the pet for one year — the length of time the shot is good for. After that first shot, however, the vaccinations are good for three years, and dog owners have the option of licensing their pets for one, two or three years.

One big change has been that licenses are no longer good for a calendar year. Owners used to be able to walk into the treasurer’s office and purchase a tag as long as they had proof of a valid rabies shot — even if that vaccination was only valid for another month or two.

Now, when a dog owner goes in to buy a tag, it will only be good for as long as the rabies vaccination is valid, and the owner will pay a only a portion of the $5 fee to license the dog for the length of time the shot is in effect.

“No tag extends past the life of the rabies shot,” Barbour said.

The treasurer’s office keeps track of rabies vaccinations through a new state law that requires veterinarians to send the treasurer a list of all animals vaccinated and their owner’s contact information.

Being able to keep track of rabies vaccinations, and changing how the dog tags are issued, is why Barbour was able to come up with a plan for 3-year tags.

The new options went into effect on Dec. 15, and 870 dogs had been licensed by the end of January under the new plan, Barbour said. Half of those dogs were licensed for a year because they only had the initial one-year rabies vaccine, and most of the remaining dogs had rabies vaccines that would expire in 2010 — but more than 100 three-year tags were issued in that time, Barbour said.

If owners do not license their dogs, the treasurer’s office will send out a reminder notice. Barbour said he got about a 40-percent response to his reminder notices in 2009.

The remaining names were turned over to Danville Police Chief Philip Broadfoot, who sent out his own reminder notice warning that violating the licensing law is a misdemeanor and could result in a $250 fine.

“He did better than I did — he got a 50-percent response,” Barbour said. The remaining dog owners were scheduled for visits from Animal Control officers.

The new plan has brought the city some unexpected income, Barbour said.

“The city had $5,000 budgeted (for dog tag income),” Barbour said. “From our database of 3,432 dogs in Danville, we brought in $17,000 last year.”

People who adopt a dog from the Danville Area Humane Society can still purchase a one-year license there, but the shelter is not set up to re-license dogs.

Barbour said most people who have one or two dogs have responded well to the transition, but that owners who have multiple dogs are finding the transition annoying.

“They don’t like it if they have five or six dogs on different rabies shot schedules,” Barbour said, admitting they could have to return to his office several times during the first year of the transition.

Owners will have the option to purchase a $5 one-year license, a $10 two-year license or a $15 three-year license — as long as it doesn’t extend past the expiration of the rabies vaccine.

Barbour said that while the transition period may be annoying to some, the plan will ultimately make dog licenses much more convenient for the owners — and might give his office less paperwork to handle.

Thibodeau is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee.