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The new year could bring the return of more frequent canvassing of neighborhoods by state dog wardens, checking to make sure dogs have current licenses and rabies vaccinations.
That is only one change the new year will usher in as an updated dog law, intended to keep pets and the public safe, goes into effect.
The stricter enforcement of Pennsylvania’s dog law will be made possible with increases in the dog license and kennel license fees that will help replenish the ranks of dog wardens, who conduct kennel inspections, investigate unlicensed kennels and handle stray and dangerous dogs.
When does it take effect?
Dog licenses will cost more beginning Feb. 1. That also is when a new provision lowering the licensing age for dogs takes effect. It will require dogs to be licensed at the time of transfer to a new owner, which can legally occur at 8 weeks, or at 12 weeks, whichever is sooner.
Other provisions in the law take effect sooner.
On Jan. 21, individuals or kennels selling dogs must display a license number along with a name and address in advertisements and provide more information about the dog’s breed, vaccinations and bite attack history; higher penalties for violations and new safety rules for licensed kennels also take effect, among them a requirement that no gaps or openings on the sides of kennel enclosures that would allow a dog’s limbs to extend into another enclosure.
How much are licenses going up?
The law provides for the base license fee to rise for the first time in nearly 30 years.
On Feb. 1, the base fee will go from $5 to $7. Adding in the administrative fee, plus the cost of postage, that county treasurers charge, the total fee will become $8.70 for all dogs. Lifetime licenses, which require a dog to have a microchip or tattoo, will be set at $52.70. The cost differential for spayed or neutered dogs will go away with the new license fees.
Annual licenses purchased through Jan. 31 will be available at the prior rate of $6.70 for spayed or neutered dogs, and $8.70 for others. Lifetime licenses purchased through Jan. 31 will be available at the prior rate of $31.70 for neutered animals, and $51.70 for others.
Discounts are available to older adults and people with disabilities.
The new law also grants the agriculture secretary the authority to increase the annual dog license fees by no more than $2 effective Dec. 1, 2025, and by no more than an additional dollar, after Dec. 1, 2027.
On March 1, kennel licenses will increase 25%, from $35 for nonprofit kennels to $950 for a large commercial kennel handling more than 500 dogs. This is the first time those fees have risen since 1965. New kennels applying for licenses after Jan. 21 will pay the higher fee, while kennels renewing their license won’t pay the fee until next January.
Reason behind the new law
For decades, the state’s dog law bureau was a self-sustaining agency that covered salaries of dog wardens, the costs of kennel inspections, addressing the problem of dangerous dogs, and dog license enforcement with the money from dog and kennel license fees and judicial fines.
Starting in 2020, the agency was no longer self-supporting. The Department of Agriculture has had to divert money from other parts of its budget to keep the scaled-back dog law bureau afloat. As warden positions became vacant, they were left unfilled. Currently, 44 wardens serve the entire state. When at full complement, there is a minimum of 58 wardens.
“It’s been a bit of a moral dilemma for a number of years knowing what the law is requiring us to do and we simply can’t satisfy that with the resources,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding told PennLive. “We’re excited about it. It’s long overdue.”
With the increased revenue, Redding said the plan is to add three more dog wardens by July 1, another six in 2024-25, and five more in 2025-26. That would bring the number of wardens to a full complement and the dog law bureau back to being a self-sustaining operation.
What difference will the new law make?
Let’s start with what it means to Pennsylvanians who don’t own a dog. The extra revenue will mean only dog owners will shoulder the financial burden of dog law enforcement.
“Oftentimes, taxpayers look at the things that the state does or doesn’t do and feels like maybe they’re paying for something that is not their responsibility,” said Nicole Wilson, director of enforcement and shelter operations with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a Dog Law Advisory Board member. “Here through this law, it is really the users who are now being expected to take on full responsibility for the cost of those services, and keeping both animals safer and the public safer.”
Having dog wardens do timely inspections of kennels and investigating reports of unlicensed kennels will prevent Pennsylvania from regaining a reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East. What’s more, having more dog wardens to handle stray dog complaints will take that burden off law enforcement officers who in many cases handle them now, Wilson said. More wardens also will help to keep the public and communities safe from dangerous dogs.
Dog wardens are the only individuals authorized to inspect kennels and investigate concerns arising from unlicensed kennels, Wilson said. So having more wardens will ensure better and more timely enforcement of that part of the law.
“Just doing the math, you can imagine that it is always going to be better to have more individuals on the ground, enforcing those regulations and laws surrounding stray dogs and addressing the kennel inspections,” Wilson said.
Why buy a dog license?
Owners of licensed dogs have a better chance of being reunited with a lost pet.
Wilson said owners of licensed dogs have more than 48 hours to reclaim a dog taken to a shelter. If law enforcement officers recover a licensed dog, they can contact the dog owner directly and avoid a shelter altogether.
Unlicensed dogs that turn up at a shelter, on the other hand, can be put up for adoption — or possibly euthanized — if the owner doesn’t claim it within that 48-hour period and the owner doesn’t have much legal recourse, Wilson said.
Another reason? Penalties for owners of unlicensed dogs will rise to a minimum of $100, up from $50 — on top of the cost of buying a license, which makes the upfront cost of a dog license a cheaper option.
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