registering with the county
 

Okay, you guys can all tell me what a terrible mommy I am, but only after you give me some advice lol!

I have had Paddington for about two months now, and I have not gotten his license. I haven't registered him with anyone. He is getting microchipped on Thursday.

The reason I have not gotten his license yet is because I hate bureaucracy. I don't think I should have to pay a fee just to keep my yorkie. He is clean, non-aggressive, healthy, etc. I'm not exactly conventional in my political beliefs.

Anyway, I didn't think it was necessary to register him (meaning I didn't think it was illegal to keep him unregistered) unless he was potentially aggressive. My dad tells me otherwise, and I was starting to worry that I won't be able to get him microchipped until I get his license.

So what is everyone's opinion on this?? What would I get from registering my Bear? Is it really that big of a deal not to?
-O

Here in California, registering is the county's way of insuring that all dogs are vaccinated against rabies. So it serves an important purpose.

I've had dogs all my life and lived in a lot of different states and never registered any of them with the city/county or state.

Sorry but your Dad is right it is the law in every state and you could get a fine IF they catch you but it will not interfere with you getting your little one microchipped. If you decide not to register your dog you had better make sure though that you have had your rabies shots.

An advantage it does have if you register your little one is to put the tag on his harness as a means of ID - many dogs have been returned to the owners with ID number on the tag. Not all animal control, shelters or vets carry the same microchip reader and the ID tag would be your only means of identification. Not sure if it could help if someone stole your little one to have him registered or not.

I've never registered any of my pets with the county/city either. I know it's the law, but they don't really enforce it here unless you have an aggressive dog, problematic dog, or animal control picks them up. I too just don't like the idea of registering them with the city. Where I live they have this law that you can only have 4 cat/dogs per household which I think is stupid. I have a dog and 2 cats and my roommate has a cat so that's 4 in our household right there. I just don't think it's any of their business how many animals I have and all as long as they are being well taken care of. Plus I don't want to pay the fee to register them...I would rather spend it on other things. Lacy has been microchipped so being microchipped won't affect you having the register them or not. When I got Lacy and my new cat's rabies shots a few months ago my vet asked me if I wanted to get my county tag. They always ask that when you get your rabies since that means it's really time to regsiter them with the city. I always say no though and they never seem to care. I just really think it's a personal choice. I've found that more people don't register them than those that do. I guess it depends on how serious your city/county is about enforcing the liscense thing...

Technically, in PA, it is illegal, and the state dog warden will go door to door. There are many, many more reasons to register your dog, skip the temporary and go straight for lifetime, if they have it in your state, it's a one time fee, and it is a license, another way to identify the dog in case the microchip fails or can't be read. I understand your thoughts, feelings and concerns, and it is your decision.

here it is only 2.00 per year. i think it is good insurance that these dogs are fully vacinated.

Has it been neutered? If he has, chances are the state know you have him.

When we had Brooklyn neutered, the vet (I guess) actually reported that we had him and he was spayed and they sent the notice that we had to register him as a neutered dog.

Good gracious--I did not know you had to register pets! Is that a law in all states (I am in Mississippi)?

i dont believe there is a law where i live either here in stanford ky or aleast i have never heard of one and if there was i would do it

I've never registered Max. I know it's a law in NYC, but I never bothered.
If I can do a lifetime registration online by credit card, I'll do it. He'salredy neutered and has had all of his shots.

Thanks for the idea!

Oh I didn't know we have to registered our babies in where we live? How do I find out if I need to registered Chloe? I live in Indiana.

Every county, regardless of state should have a website for local government, try a basic google search. In my state and county we do it at the Treasurer's Office in the County Courthouse, since I work in the DA's Office (also in the Courthouse) and bragged about Vinnie so much (proud mommy!) I definitely had to! Every state is different.

I've registered all of mine, because there was an article in the paper about a lost dog that got picked up by animal control and was put in the pound for days because he was not registered. Had this person not gotten the license, the dog could have been put down.

Also, I've heard the animal control here will ask to see licenses if dogs are outside, ect... although it hasn't happened to me. If there is no license they can hand out big fines.

You do not have to register dogs here in Tennessee that i know of.
I do know there is a limit to the number of animals you can have cause my mom has the max.

All of mine are registered. I pay a small fee once a year and avoid the headache of a fine which is alot more than what the license cost. I live 1 block away from city hall so I cannot risk it. Plus if I take them to the park and a cop sees us they will ask for city tags and if you don't have it...you get fined. I see it as another ID tag because that number belongs to them and the city has all our information in their data base.

They are real strick where I live...they go door to door and if you are not home and they hear your dog you better be sure the ticket will be in the mail. They give no warnings at all. Even if you are home and open the door you still get a ticket and they tell you to get a license.

That is exactly how I feel about it! I don't understand why I should have to pay the local government for a little dog that bothers no one. He gets all of his shots on time (I won't schedule a doctor's appointment for myself when I have bronchitis b/c it is too expensive, yet I shell out $150 to a vet at the same time because he needs shots and parasite prevention meds.) He doesn't even potty outside. I do take him on walks,but he doesn't bother anyone but the birds that he chases in the field... I take care of my dog because I love my dog, not because the government tells me I have to. I just think it's kind of orwellian. If he were a big dog that pooped a lot outside (possible health risks) or a breed prone to aggression, I would probably think more about it because people do have a right to know what health/safety risks they are living near. I just don't see small dogs as such a risk.

He also has tags with his home address and my phone number, so he has external ID, although he isn't always wearing it because I don't let him wear his collar all the time. I don't think it is strictly enforced around here; I've asked around, and I've never seen the dog warden! I do know though, that they euthanize cats that aren't registered that are caught outside. They do it within hours of catching them, too. This concerns me, because if they do it to cats I wonder if they do it to dogs! I think that is the only reason I would do it- to keep them from putting him down, not to avoid a fine.
-O

My house is already wayyyy over the city limit of animals, because we rescue too many animals. I think I'll register Wobie at my grandparent's address, to be safe. I just don't want to be fined...

I'm one over the limit as well. I didn't know about the law though until I got my last puppy, so I won't be getting anymore.. but I'm registering Kenz with my dad's address.

My next door neighbor mentioned the law to me, and so far hasn't done anything, but to be on the safe side I'll just have her registered to another person. The clerk basically told me to do that and told me that they'd never be able to prove that she lives here.. so I guess it has all worked out.

I'm not sure of the reasoning behind the number of dogs one can own, but I have a good idea... My parents are 75 yrs old. My Dad spent many years prettying up their back yard so my Mom would have a nice place to sit in the evening (she has been ill for a long time). People moved in behind them with 7 or 8 dogs, every time she would go out her back door these dogs would attack the fence and bark non stop at her. So she just stopped going outside.:( Someone else in the neighborhood must have reported them because the dogs are no longer there. On the licensing note, I did notice at the bottom of my water bill last month there was a phone number to register your dog with the city.

I've never registered a dog in my life... I don't even know if thats a law here.. maybe in New York its not necessary, my Vet never mentioned it to me :confused: Or, maybe my vet registers them when she give them the rabies shot.:confused: I don't know, but either way, I am not going to start registering them now.

Licenses are mandatory here in Vancouver, BC. I got my 2 furbabies a few months ago and registered them. The licenses arrived in the mail and they were huge! Vancouver has just adopted a policy where you keep the same tag each year and just re-pay the fee. I guess when they did that, they decided to make a more substantial tag as the ones I always had for my MinPin were not that big. I emailed City Hall asking if I could just get a collar tag engraved with the info and found out that although that wasn't allowed, they did have smaller sized tags. I went down to exchange the tags and received new ones about the size of a penny! I have no idea if that has always been possible or not!

I felt the same way about bureacracy, but now in our county in Virginia, after July 1st, passed an ordinance requiring vets to turn names in so they can enforce the fee. ($3 for neutered/spayed) What that will end up doing is causing some people to avoid the vet! dumb law. But I went ahead and got it, at our local SPCA, which was hard to resist all the sad eyes there! But Maxwell actually likes his new jewelry. Red license, blue rabies, bone shaped I.D. tag. Jingle jingle jingle.

I know this much, in the state of Pennsylvania it is a summary offense and punishable by a fine of up to $300 for each unlicensed dog. Every state has different laws that i'm sure you can find on the internet, if anyone has questions I would be glad to help. I have charged people with this before. If you have an unlicensed dog and they would be lost or stolen or god forbid anything else would happen and you called authorities you would risk getting in trouble. I do it because like i said, i work in the courthouse and can't get away with it, the state dog warden will go door to door and check, and like i said more dogs are recovered through licensing than microchipping to date because of the different readers that don't read all chips and whatnot. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion! :-)

After reading this post, I went online to register Max. Not only can you not do it online, you need a vet's letter re shots, etc. No wonder nobody bothers in NY.

I may do it, but on my own time. I like things like this to be made easy, and we certainly have the technology for it. I already have the rabies tag. All they need is the number. They are so behind the times.

i didn't know it was a law in every state!!

In our area, if you have your dog vaccinated against rabies, the vet automatically informs the city. So if that is the same in your area, they will know.

I've only registered one dog in my life...that was only because he bit someone and the hospital reported it and the county came a knockin.