February is “Love Your Dog Month” and state officials are trying to bring awareness to getting your dog licensed.
There are nearly one million dogs in the state that don’t have a license—and the Director of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement Kristen Donomoyer is trying to change that.
“Dogs are licensed through the county treasurers. Every county has different options. You can mail in, do it in person, they have a sub-agent such as Petsmart that you can go and get your license. Many counties have online options as well.”
The lack of people licensing their dogs has also financially hurt the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, according to Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
“We are working with the general assembly. We are working with the governor. We are well aware of the need to address the fee issue. It has not been increased in 23 years. I was just reading last night that during that same time, our spending as a society on pets has increased by 230 percent.”
A report from the state’s Auditor General said the bureau could run out of funds by the summer.