Why do your local municipalities charge for a Dog or Cat licence?
If you are opposed to the constant tax grabs that your city or town charges, you may be asking yourself the question: “ Why do I have to pay a licence fee to own a cat or dog”?
There are actually a lot of services that your municipality may do to help animals in your area.
During times of economic hardship, more animals have been abandoned or are suffering from a lack of medical care and good nutrition.
Here are a few services that your licencing fee provides:
· The Animal Services unit may provide medical care and neuter services within their clinics. I knew a disabled person with several cats who lived on a low income. The animals were not neutered and had behavior problems. Finally, he allowed me to take the felines to the local city clinic to be treated at a very low cost. The care was excellent and the waiting time wasn’t long.
For eligible citizens, there are often No Cost Spay/Neuter programs that can be booked.
· There are lots of dogs and cats that wander off the property and get lost. Your local Animal Control unit helps to reunite lost pets with their owners.
· A feral animal on the street often lasts a year or less before starving or being hit by traffic. Animal services can match up this animal and adopt them so they can live a long and healthy life with a caring owner.
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If the pet can’t be reunited with their people parents or have been abandoned. To make them adoptable, they may have to deal with behavior problems first, like aggression or reactivity issued. Check to see if your local Animal Services unit has a Volunteer Animal Socialization program.
· Sometimes, people cannot drive to the Animal Control centre to pick up their lost pet
Or one that is being spayed. See if they offer a Pet Drive Home service. Many taxi services won’t take animals alone as passengers in their vehicles without an owner.
· Adoption services for Cats and Dogs is an essential service, so that abandoned animals aren’t euthanized. They ensure the animal is healthy and well socialized before finding them a forever home.
· Since your municipality can’t always accommodate every injured animal they find, or will not do surgery on cats and dogs… they need to use local Vet Clinics to assist them. Part of your licence fee goes towards funding veterinary clinics to provide emergency medical care.
· In the vet-operated facilities, your fee goes towards providing shelter, feeding and care for lost pets. You will feel relieved that professional services were given to your beautiful Fluffy or Rover, during the time that they were missing.
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· We all have a neighbor that doesn’t like your pet. It might wonder onto their property and poop or do damage to their yard. Animal services can help resolve these animal-related conflicts, such as barking for hours or leaving the pet tied up in cold weather.
· Responsible pet ownership bylaws are enforced so that your pets are on leash in certain parks and don’t poop in the potable water areas
· Animal services holds Fairs and Education promotions to show the public how to be responsible pet owners. I have taken my dog to many of these fairs and even received free Recall and Behavior training in some of the dog parks from the local trainers.
So next time you get your licencing bill, consider it to be a great investment rather than another tax grab