|
CC Work Session 2. 1.
<br />Meeting Date: 03/12/2019
<br />Information
<br />Title:
<br />Discuss possible changes to dog/cat licensing requirement in the City of Ramsey.
<br />Purpose/Background:
<br />The purpose of this case is to consider the Council's request of staff to review current city ordinances and determine
<br />if cat/dog registration and licensing is necessary for the city. License registration statistics, pet clinic statistics,
<br />revenue numbers, animal impound statistics, and overview of available technology (ID chips, Social Media, etc).are
<br />provide as part of this report.
<br />Note, these current City Ordinances regulate this requirement and would need revision / elimination:
<br />Sec. 10-57. - Individual dog licensing.
<br />All dogs kept, harbored, or maintained in the city shall be licensed and registered. Applications for license shall be
<br />made to the city administrator, or his designee, upon forms provided by the city administrator. Said application
<br />shall require the owner, among other information required by the city administrator, to supply the name, age,
<br />predominant breed, sex, color and markings of each dog sought to be licensed. In addition, when the applicant or
<br />owner has been convicted of violation of section 10-65 relative to the dog sought to be licensed, the application
<br />shall require proof of public liability insurance in the minimum amount of $300,000.00. Upon submission of the
<br />application and a certificate evidencing compliance with the terms and provisions of section 10-59, relating to
<br />vaccination for rabies, and upon payment of a fee as established by ordinance, the city administrator or his designee
<br />shall issue a license. Said license will be concurrent with a valid rabies vaccination for up to three years.
<br />(Ord. No. 15-12, § 2, 7-14-2015)
<br />Sec. 10-58. - Tags.
<br />The license shall be in the form of an identification tag and shall be affixed by the owner to a collar to be worn by
<br />the dog. In case a tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate will be issued by the city administrator upon presentation of a
<br />receipt showing payment of the license fee for the current period and a payment as established by ordinance Dog
<br />tags shall not be transferable from one dog to another and no refunds shall be made on any dog license fee because
<br />of death of the dog or the owners leaving the city prior to expiration of the license period.
<br />(Ord. No. 15-12, § 2, 7-14-2015)
<br />The city of Ramsey has registered a total of 1641 animals (dogs and cats) since the registration ordinance was
<br />adopted. There are 604 current valid license registrations. Staff maintains a database of the registrations that include
<br />information such as owner name, owner address, rabies vaccination date, vaccination expiration date, animals name,
<br />breed, color, & sex. The fee for registration is $10 if the animal is spayed/neutered, and $20 if not. Registration is
<br />valid as long as the rabies vaccination is not expired. This can range from 1 to 3 years based on the age of the
<br />animal. The City of Ramsey has collected the following amounts for animal license registrations:2017: $1,480
<br />2018: $2,590 2019 to date: $1 l0Police Department staff handle animal complaints and two annual pet clinics. The
<br />primary goal of pet clinics has been to ensure up to date vaccinations and registration of animals with the city. Pet
<br />clinics require 4 city staff, veterinary services contract, food, venue, signage, etc. In addition to local veterinary
<br />providers, large pet stores offer similar vaccination clinics on a monthly basis at their locations. In recent years,
<br />social media has been helpful in reuniting pets with their owners and adopting animals out instead of euthanizing.
<br />Many animal rescue organizations follow social media outlets and will either accept the animal or find a suitable
<br />home. Dog and cat microchipping is newer technology and a relatively simple procedure. A veterinarian injects a
<br />microchip for pets, about the size of a grain of rice (12mm), beneath the surface of your pet's skin between the
<br />shoulder blades. A microchip is a permanent pet ID. The microchip itself has no internal energy source, so it will
<br />last the life of your pet. It is read by passing a microchip scanner over the pet's shoulder blades. The scanner emits
<br />
|