Agenda - Council Work Session - 03/12/2019

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No license, no problem: More cities eliminating pet licenses - StarTribune.com Page 1 of 3 LOCAL No license, no problem: More cities eliminating pet licenses Growing number of cities in the metro area are eliminating the requirement By Erin Adler (http://www.startribune.com/erin-adler/195633361/) Star Tribune NOVEMBER 5, 2018 — 12:12PM From Burnsville to Crystal, many cities in the metro area no longer require residents to obtain pet licenses, calling the practice out -of -touch in an age when rabid dogs rarely roam and people have other ways to fmd their missing pets. "What I've seen is some cities finding it is more of a headache ... than it is a benefit," said Graham Brayshaw, head veterinarian for the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. The latest municipalities to drop pet licenses include Mound, in 2016, and Orono, in 2017. The Crystal City Council in August informally decided to end licensing, and Burnsville officials agreed to do so at a work session last month (but likely won't vote on it until next year). The main reason, say city officials, is mass noncompliance. Few pet owners keep licenses up to date, if they get them at all. We're only penalizing people who are rule followers,' said Jeff Kolb, a Crystal City Council member, adding that those individuals probably already are responsible pet owners. Pet licenses once purported to ensure that animals were vaccinated and could be easily reunited with their owners if lost. Yet, out of 8,000 households, only a few hundred Crystal residents have licenses. The fees probably don't even cover administration costs, Kolb said. "We're not out there enforcing," said Catherine Pausche, Mound city finance director. Orono Police Chief Correy Farniok said that social media and microchips combine to make a highly effective way to locate lost pets, recalling a Facebook post by an officer on a missing dog that was shared 4,000 times in an hour. Ideas about pets have changed, said Burnsville City Council Member Cara Schulz. People used to keep them outside, let them run loose and brought them to the vet only rarely. "Now your pets sleep on the bed with you," she said. Some cities say that licenses still serve a purpose. Minneapolis' website highlights the revenue they generate, which pays for the sheltering and feeding of lost pets. GALLERY GPI: 1/6 DAVID JOLES - STAR TRIBUNE Gallery: Ayounggolden retriever pup seemed a bit spooked by a small dog that had come to mingle at Alimagnet dog park Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, in DAVID JOLES • STAR TRIBUNE Smaller dogs bounded toward a fence at Alimagnet Dog Park in Burnsville on Friday to check out a passing Doberman pinscher on the http ://www. startribune.com/no-license-no-problem-more-cities-eliminating-pet-licenses/499... 3/7/2019