Dog tags might help get strays home, veterinarian says

After nearly three weeks in the city pound, this Jack Russell Terrier is ready to find a home. Under a proposed city ordinance, it might be easier to find the owners of strays like this pup, held by Tammy Singer, Le Mars Veterinary Clinic office manager and veterinary assistant. The clinic serves as the city pound and takes in about 100 stray pets each year from Le Mars alone. [Click to enlarge]

This dog, the veterinarian assistant said, was brought to the clinic -- which also serves as the city pound -- several weeks ago. It was found loose near Greenwood Avenue in Le Mars. Although it has a collar, the pup has no tags to tell who its owners might be.

If a Le Mars ordinance requiring dog and cat licenses is approved, and if owners follow the new rule, less pets will be stranded like this terrier.

The proposed pet license rule was created as part of the Le Mars City Council's budget planning for 2009. To help balance the budget, animal control funding was cut. This ordinance would help bring in money to pay for an animal control officer.

Currently the local police department is handling stray pets in Le Mars.

"It's not their job," veterinarian Dr. Paul Prieksat said.

Under the proposed city ordinance, dog and cat owners in Le Mars will be required to bring their pet to a local veterinarian's office, pay a fee and get the metal tag, which will include a number that will link that dog or cat to the owner's information.

"The tag fits on their collar," Prieksat said. "If the animal is lost, the animal control officer will use the number on the tag to take the animal back to its home."

Along with paying the fee -- $6 for neutered or spayed pets and $12 for other animals -- owners will also have to make sure their pet has an up-to-date rabies shot.

This rule will require tags for all dogs and cats 6 months and older.

Prieksat said this ordinance will be helpful in identifying stray and lost pets that come into the pound from Le Mars.

"We get over 100 dogs a year from the city," said Prieksat.

About 50-60 percent of them are reclaimed, he said.

"It's frustrating to have them here and know they're a dog from in town, but we have no way of finding out who they belong to," Prieksat said.

Prieksat estimated that one-fourth of the animals brought to the pound are unclaimed and eventually must be euthanized.

Nikki Sharp, another Le Mars Veterinary Clinic employee, said the ordinance might help reunite more animals with owners.

"People don't understand what we go through," she said. "If you have to put a baby puppy to sleep, it's sad."

Prieksat himself has adopted a few unclaimed dogs.

"We wish we could adopt out every one of them," he said. "Realistically, it's not going to happen."

Up until the mid 1980s, Le Mars and Plymouth County used to have a dog licensing rule.

Dog owners were required, once a year, to come to the Plymouth County Courthouse to pick up a dog tag. To receive it, they had to pay $1 and show proof of a current rabies shot.

"That's what it was really about -- getting the rural people as well as the city people to give their pets rabies shots," said County Auditor Kae Meyer.

Each tag had the year on it and a number.

"If someone found the dog and called us, we could tell them who the dog belonged to," Meyer said.

The ordinance was abandoned, Meyer added, for several reasons.

By that time, people had caught on to the importance of giving pets rabies shots. Also, the ordinance required extensive bookkeeping and was not paying for itself.

"It got to be quite expensive," Meyer said.

Under the proposed new ordinance, $1 from each licensing fee will be given to the licensing veterinarian.

This won't be a money-making operation for the vet clinics, Prieksat noted. In fact, he doubted they would break even.

The remaining pet license fee and any fines for licensing violations or costs for abandoned or unclaimed animals will be used for animal control costs.

If a stray is picked up and doesn't have a license, the current $25 fine for abandoned or running dogs will be applied, along with the current boarding costs of $10 per day for a large dog, $8 per day for a small dog, and $6 per day for cats.

If cat owners choose not to put a collar on their animal, they will be required to have proof their cat is licensed with the city.

Le Mars' new pet license rule won't become official until it is read three times at city council meetings and approved by the council. The first two readings of the ordinance have passed -- the most recent one at the Nov. 18 council meeting in a 3-1 vote. Councilman Rex Knapp voted against it and Councilman John Leonard was absent.

The third reading is set for the Dec. 2 city council meeting.

If approved, the licensing ordinance will become effective Jan. 1, 2009.

After that, it will be up to pet owners to bring their pets into the veterinarian to pick up the tags.

Both the Town & Country Veterinary Clinic and the Le Mars Veterinary Clinic will offer the tags.

The intention of the council, according to Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole, is to have pet owners sign up for the licenses when they come in for their pets' annual rabies shots and checkups.

"We can't force anyone to do it," Prieksat said. "But it will be a good tool to help with all the lost animals."

Beyond the tag

Along with metal tags, some pet owners have opted for an additional way to identify their pet: a microchip.

Here's how it works: a veterinarian injects a microchip under the pet's skin between the shoulder blades. The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice.

Veterinarians check for the presence of a microchip by running a microchip scanner over the pet's shoulder blades. The scanner will read the chip's unique code, allowing the pet's owner to be identified.