Are Dog Licenses On the Way Out in Golden Valley?

It's not just cats that have more than one life.

In Golden Valley, it’s also dogs.

At Tuesday night’s City Council/Manager meeting, the on-again-off-again issue of whether to elminate city dog licenses was back on - with the good chance licenses will be eliminated altogether.

The council program after Police Chief Stacy Altonen said it was too expensive to maintain.  But after hearing from several residents and pet owners who wanted to keep the licenses, the council decided to take a closer look at the current program and potential options.

But if Tuesday night’s positions taken by each of the five council members were any indication, the council is moving back to its original position, and licenses will become a thing of the past.

Following a half hour of open discussion, the council asked City Manager Tom Burt to come back in April with revisions to the ordinance on dogs and to red line the matter of licenses. 

"Administratively, it is not practical to require licenses because the costs to the program are greater than the fees taken in,” said council member Paula Pentel. “I have heard from a fair number of residents asking we discontinue the licensing requirement.”

A license costs $6 annually in Golden Valley.  And although there had been discussion in previous meetings of raising the fees to $15, like neighboring Crystal has done, on Tuesday night, there was no talk of heading in that direction.

Council members say the other factor in eliminating licenses is technology. Today, the majority of dogs have implanted identification chips, which the city can scan on a dog. That, plus rabies tags, can also be used to match a stray dog to its owner.

Chief Altonen said that last year there were approximately six hundred licenses issued by the city. However, it's estimated there are at least four thousand dogs in Golden Valley.

"Because of the previous publicity  surrounding the uncertainly of the matter, we held off sending out the usual annual notices to city dog owners regarding renewing licenses," she said. "Up until a few weeks ago, only six people came in to renew licenses in 2011."

Stray dogs in the city are also a minor issue.

“Last year, we impounded only 14 dogs…and one chicken,” Burt said.

Mayor Linda Loomis added that dog licenses only work in the municipality in which they are issued whereas ID chips work everywhere. Therefore, if a dog gets loose and winds up in another town, it can be quickly matched to its owner, thanks to the chip technology.

The was also part of the discussion.  A majority of cities with dog parks don’t require a traditional dog license, but instead require the dog owner pay for an annual permit and show proof of vaccinations in order to use the dog park, Loomis added.

Another issue is enforcement. Burt said if the city were to impose a strict enforcement on licensing it would be an extra burden on the police. Altonen also said Golden Valley does not have animal control personnel as do larger metro suburbs.

While action to eliminate the city’s dog licensing requirement could come as early as this spring, if passed, the new ordinance would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2012.

An official vote on the dog licensing issue is expected in the coming weeks, and Mayor Linda Loomis says the council will still be open to discussion about creating a dog park once the licensing issue is a done deal.