Just as long as the donation isn't going to the HSUS and stays local I would be happy. My fee probably only covers the cost of paperwork and the tag itself.

Is that the County or City?

I'm outside city limits so unincorporated Alameda County and Lancer's 3 year unaltered license was $22.

Our fee covers running the shelter and I have no problem with that.

I think my fee is $12 per dog and thanks for the reminder, I need to make sure mine are current when I get home from the sandbox.

I was talking to the clerk at the shelter when I got my licenses when we moved back to OK last year. She said most folks just ignore the license which hurts the county shelter.

Here in Bucks County PA I think it is $6 for altered or $8 for unaltered. If your dog is micro-chipped or has a tattoo you can purchase a life-time license. I forgot how much it was, I think around $45-$50. I did that with Luke so that I don't have to remember to renew every year.

For the lifetime license in PA it's $51 for (as the state says) regular productive dogs and $31 for non-productive dogs. If the dog doesn't lift a paw to help around the house do you think you could argue they are non-productive . . . ?

For a yearly license in Montgomery County its $8/$6 if spayed or neutered or $6 intact/$4 spayed/neutered if you are a senior and individuals with a disability. I love that they offer the option of getting the license on-line now and I even get a reminder e-mail in January. It used to be like finding buried treasure to get a paper application.

Mine is $20/yr for altered dogs. Dont know if we can get a 3 year tag or not, but am thinking not.

It really, really depends on where you live.

We've paid anywhere from $2.50 to $25 per pet (altered and UTD on shots). Where we are now, it's $2.50 and it's valid as long as the rabies certificate is - so if we do 3 year rabies shots, they're good for 3 years.

Jill,
You've mentioned a lifetime license..... In Vermont in order to register or license your dog, the rabies needs to be UTD. Vermont has 3 year rabies. At least in our town we can only register yearly, would like to see a 3 year tag. In PA do you not need a current rabies? If you have a lifetime license how does that work if you do need current rabies? One of the main reasons for licensing is to make sure the dogs are vaccinated against rabies.

She is right - you can (I have) get lifetime licenses if your dogs are tattooed or chipped. No check is made for UTD rabies vacs. The vet must fill out the paperwork for the chipping and/or tattooing, and you just send it and your $31.00 check to the Court House. My only guess is that if you get spot-checked for any reason, you will be fined if your rabies vacs are not up to date.

Yes, rabies vac is mandatory.

Even though our dogs are chipped, I still do a yearly license and I've never had to show proof of rabies. Your question made me wonder so I checked and as far as I can see there's no relationship between the two. When I renew on-line I just click in a few spots, pay, and poof get an updated license in my e-mail.

PA does require proof of rabies vaccination by a licensed vet if requested.

Here we have to buy a license at the vet's office when the dog receives its rabies vac. And vets are allowed to charge an extra service fee for selling the license. Isn't that nice? In my county the license fees went up substantially after a well-publicized pitbull attack a few years ago. I pay $19 for a 3-year tag for my spayed/neutered dogs and that includes a $5 discount for microchips. But for my intact Gordon Setter (show prospect), I pay the $70 extortion fee for a 3-year tag, which includes the $5 discount for a microchip. If you buy a 1-year tag, the fee is $40 for intact and $13 for speutered and the $5 chip discount is also available.

The fees go into a county Animal Control Fund which pays for costs of the Animal Control Program. One-third of the fees collected each year is used for paying claims for the loss of livestock or poultry, and the remaining two-thirds pays for the cost of stray dog/cat control (we have a TNR program), impoundment, education and other costs associated with carrying out the Animal Control Act. I didn't know this before, I just looked it up.

In my county, AC does check up on rabies licenses. They say they do it routinely by area. AC came knocking at our door last year because they had about 20 dogs in my name that were behind on rabies. I wasn't home so the ACO told DH to have me call her. Poor DH was a bit shaken. Turns out that when I pulled dogs for rescues, the rescue coordinator kept putting them in MY name in the computer instead of the rescue's name. I handled it over the phone and the ACO was very pleasant and apologetic. She went through the list and I told her which dogs were mine and which were either fosters or went to other rescues. Same thing happened to a friend who fosters for Husky rescue.

We've never had them check on rabies, but ever now and then there will be a flurry and the county will come knocking on doors in some neighborhoods. If they hear a dog and no one is home to provide proof of a dog license they will leave a citation that will be dismissed when you show produce proof of a license. Because of this, I license the fosters too. I figure with all the money that flows out of my pocket for rescue, another six bucks now and again can't possibly make any difference.

My county fee is $10.75/dog and it is supposed to go to the county animal shelter. I don't know how much of it really does though. We are supposed to get a new license each year by January 31st or the fee goes up to $20. I would have to guess there are quite a few unlicensed dogs though.

Couldn't find info for my current city online...but since we are moving soon, I figured I would check there and it is similar to the above.

$54/3 year altered ($18 for one year)
$108/3 year unaltered ($36 for one year)

and $6 for a replacement tag.