Awesome, but is it registered? If not, you can do it here for free – and we never charge update or maintenance fees.
When used together, licensing and microchipping your pet are the best ways to quickly reunite with your animal. Get these two types of identification today — your pet will thank you!
Let us help figure it out. First, find a local clinic with a universal scanner to check your pet.
Have you not gotten a cat or dog license yet? Well what are you waiting for?! Here are 15 reasons to get a pet license today!
Getting or renewing a dog license is a yearly requirement in many cities and towns in the United States, and more municipalities are requiring licenses for cats as well. But what is the purpose of the license, and what are the consequences of not renewing them each year?
Owning a dog and, in many cases, a cat is considered a “privilege” rather than a right. The difference between a privilege and a right can be best explained by using driving as an example. Because cars are both useful and potentially dangerous, governments regulate how they can be used and by whom. Drivers must follow rules on the road or lose their driving privileges.
It is important to note that laws governing pet licenses can vary widely between cities, counties and states. You should also note the distinction between a rabies tag and a pet license. For instance, some rural areas may only require proof of rabies vaccination and not a pet license. (However, all licenses require proof of rabies vaccination.)
The same principle applies to owning a pet. Most people live in relatively close proximity in cities, towns and suburbs, and pets can affect the health and well being of the community. So, for everyones protection, local or county governments regulate pet ownership.
Sure, just being against the law isn’t the ultimate motivation for everyone, but perhaps the penalties may be enough motivation. Penalties for not having your dog licensed can lead to some hefty fines, usually in the hundreds of dollars (and yes, that is multiple hundreds, not just one). This is a very easy trouble to save yourself, and the cost of a license is not an onerous one. For about $10-$20 per year, you can license your dog and avoid a hefty fine later on. You could keep your dog licensed for its entire life and pay less than one fine. Plus, when your pet is licensed, you receive all of the other benefits of a licensed pet while you’re at it! These license fees are not a “cash grab” from your local government. All of the money collected from licensing fees goes directly to the benefit of animals and citizens within the community. So please do your part.
So make sure that you contact your local municipality about getting your pet licensed. It is a very important piece of responsible ownership, and being a responsible member of your community. Help to make your community a better place for everyone. If you don’t own a dog, but you are looking, be sure to check out that local shelter too. You never know, your perfect dog companion may be sitting there waiting for you, because someone didn’t care enough about them to pay the small fee that would have kept them together.
The most simplistic and potentially the most directly beneficial part of getting your dog licensed, is that your dog’s tag will give you the best chance of being reunited with your pet. Dogs can get lost any number of ways. As we have seen over the past couple of years, natural disasters such as floods and fires can create separation quickly. Once everything has settled down, that little dog license tag, will give you the best chance of being reunited. This little identification tag also comes in handy for that pesky curious dog that occasionally runs off, or even in the event that someone makes an attempt to steal an animal. Keep your pets safe, and by your side with a dog license.
It is commonly thought by many dog owners that municipal dog licenses are “a waste of money”, or “just another cash grab”. However, have you ever really thought about what that money goes towards? Why municipalities mandate that our pets are licensed? Or what happens if your pet runs away? But my pet will never run away… right? Look at the natural disasters such as floods, and forest fires that we have seen over the last year. There were a lot of cases where people became separated from their pets. However, there is a simple way to give yourself and your dog the best chance of reuniting when something goes wrong, keep the community a little safer, make the city a better place for lost pets, and even save the lives of some animals while you are at it… Get your dog licensed!
As much as it is great that these licensing fees can help cover costs for shelters, and reunite dogs with their owners, if your dog isn’t licensed to your name, the system doesn’t work for you. Your lost dog could end up in a shelter, and you won’t have any way to prove that it belongs to you. You could end up having to try and adopt it back, and there is still no guarantee that you will end up with your dog. It could be adopted by another family, or even worse not adopted at all. Many shelters simply can’t keep up with the amount of strays that are brought in. Sadly in some cases animals have to be put down when a home cannot be found for them. Get a license, and keep your pet safe at home and by your side, rather than alone and in a strange place.
PAWS 101: Pet Licensing
Have you not gotten a cat or dog license yet? Well what are you waiting for?! Here are 15 reasons to get a pet license today!
When used together, licensing and microchipping your pet are the best ways to quickly reunite with your animal. Get these two types of identification today — your pet will thank you!
Awesome, but is it registered? If not, you can do it here for free – and we never charge update or maintenance fees.
Let us help figure it out. First, find a local clinic with a universal scanner to check your pet.