The Town of Minto will soon be issuing “lifetime” dog tags, rather than requiring dog owners to replace tags annually.
By-law enforcement officer Cam Forbes says the new system will save the municipality money and staff time and also provide dog owners with access to a network to help them find lost pets.
“Every year we’ve purchased around 1,300 tags and we end up throwing out some because we stamp the year on them,” Forbes told council on Aug. 9. “And it takes a lot of time to match these dog tags up with the invoices and get them mailed out to the right people,” he added.
“By switching to lifetime dog tags, we will save approximately 50 hours of staff time stuffing envelopes with tags to be mailed out, beginning in 2020 with permanent tags being sent out in 2019,” Forges explained in a written report. “As well we will no longer need to purchase tags annually at a cost of approximately $400 a year. Owners will still be invoiced on a yearly basis to renew their licence.”
“The tags are a little more expensive, but you’re going to leave that tag on the dog for a long period of time,” Forbes stated.
Fees for the new tags will not change. Unpaid invoices will continue to be added to the dog owner’s tax bill.
The new tags are to be kept on the dog as long as the dog resides in the Minto and the tag is still legible, the report notes. If the tag is lost or becomes illegible, it is the owner’s responsibility to have the tag replaced.
An added feature of the new tags will be a QR code, which can be scanned with a smart phone, leading to the S.O.S. Lost Pets website where anyone finding a dog can enter the tag number to find the owner’s contact information. The town will continue to register all dogs the same as in the past. It will be up to the home owner to register their pet with S.O.S. Lost Pets. A pamphlet is included with the tag that explains how to register a pet on the website or by text message.
Also Forbes noted, “If the dog is missing you can also go on the SOS site and put out an amber alert. So it’s going to help the owners get their dogs back quicker.”
Councillor Judy Dirksen asked about the durability of the new tags.
“I hope they’re a lot tougher than what we’ve been handing out,” she said.
“They’re an aluminum tag with a heavy epoxy coating on it … So I think they’re probably more durable than the aluminum tags we’ve had in the past,” Forbes replied.
Council approved the report and necessary bylaw wording changes to implement the new system.
