KENILWORTH – Wellington North Township is doing away with dog licences.
“Because people aren’t licensing the proper number of dogs, the tax base is paying for that shortfall,” township clerk Karren Wallace told council on Nov. 4.
Council was discussing a report that suggested a few different options for dog licensing, including opting out of the practice altogether.
The report described how, in 2019, Docupet was contracted to provide dog licence sales for the township, creating efficiencies in the way the service was delivered.
But the agreement with Docupet is at an end, and the company no longer offers an enumeration option, it stated.
It also went on to detail how revenues from the sale of licences, as well as the number of licences sold, have dropped significantly in recent years.
In 2017, an enumeration year, 2,052 tags were sold, resulting in $52,753 in revenues. With related expenditures of $49,948, the net gain for the township was $2,805.
In 2019, only 1,649 tags were sold, generating $29,053 in revenue, but expenditures were lower at $23,601, resulting in a net gain of $5,452.
But in the ensuing years, tag sales have continued to drop, and expenditures have gone up.
In 2023, only 1,179 tags were sold and the net loss was $11,340.
“Despite offering dog owners a more convenient way to purchase a licence, revenues have decreased over time,” the report stated.
The expenditures for the program include Docupet’s fees, monthly fees to R & R Pet Paradise – the company contracted to provide animal control service for the township – and boarding fees, it said.
The price of a licence has fluctuated somewhat.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019, it was $25. From 2020 to 2024, it was $20. It had been approved to return to $25 for 2025.
According to the report, the main purpose of dog licensing has historically been to help identify and reunite lost dogs with their owners.
But there are other tools available that have changed the way lost dogs are identified, including microchipping and tags sold online and at retail stores.
Wallace pointed out social media accounts, such as the Mount Forest What’s Happening Facebook group, can also be effective in reunited lost dogs with their owners.
“Dogs are reclaimed on there more than they ever are, ever, through our Docupet tags,” Wallace said.
The report’s recommendation was not to renew the contract with Docupet for 2025, to cease requiring the licencing of dogs, and to negotiate a new contract with R & R Pet Paradise.
“It would be recommended that an amount be added to the levy to pay for the cost of the animal control officer standby fee of approximately $10,000 annually,” it stated.
Wallace said the new animal control contract, which would be brought back to council at a later date, would still include responding to dangerous dogs and dogs at large, but only if they are contained.
In response to concerns raised by councillors about puppy mills, pet hoarding and animal cruelty or neglect, Wallace said other legislation would address these things.
Puppy mills, for example, would represent a zoning bylaw infraction.
“It’s against our zoning bylaw to be selling [dogs],” Wallace said.
Neglected animals fall under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, she added.
Council approved motions to no longer require licensing of dogs, to not renew the contract with Docupet in 2025, and to negotiate a new contract with R & R Pet Paradise.
