RECENT STORIES

Police blotter: Boys set fire to bag of feces ( Wheat Ridge Police Department )
Survey opportunity for Wheat Ridge residents ( Kerry Ewald )
Congratulations Wheat Ridge 4A state champs! ( Office of the Mayor )
Don’t let foodborne illness spoil the holidays ( Kodi Bryant )
My dad is weird ( Tina Myers, Denver Area Council, BSA )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Wheat Ridge \\ Stories \\ News \\ Government

Dog licensing in Jefferson County begins July 1

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Office of the Mayor on 6/5/2007

Beginning July 1, pet owners throughout Jefferson County and parts of Adams County will be required to license their dogs. The program, which has been in effect in unincorporated Jefferson County since 1994, will be expanded to all the municipalities, including Arvada, Golden, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Westminster.

Many cities and counties throughout Colorado also require pet registration, including the City and County of Denver, Larimer County and Teller County. Licensing provides benefits that serve the community as a whole. Mandatory licensing can:

• Reduce the number of unwanted dogs by encouraging owners to spay and neuter dogs;
• Ensure that dogs have their rabies shots;
• Protect pet owners and their animals by tracking dangerous and aggressive dogs and habitual offenders of animal laws; and,
• Return lost pets to their owners more quickly and increase the number of pets returned to their homes.

Fees are expected to increase from current rates of $7 for spayed/neutered or $25 for unaltered dogs to $15 for spayed/neutered or $30 for unaltered dogs as of July 15. Citizens are being encouraged to take advantage of the lower fees now before the rate increases go into effect July 15.

A portion of the revenues generated by dog licensing will go to Table Mountain Animal Center's capital building fund to help construct a much-needed new facility. TMAC serves as a safe haven for lost animals impounded by animal control officers and for pets relinquished by their owners. It is also the animal adoption facility within Jefferson County for the entire Rocky Mountain Region. While TMAC receives the third largest volume of animals of all shelters in Colorado, it has one of the smallest budgets of any major animal shelter in the state.

Requiring dogs to be licensed also expedites reuniting lost pets with owners. The database maintained by the county contains information on the owner and vet, important medical concerns, and can flag dangerous dogs. Dog tags can be traced around the clock by all participating jurisdictions, which will lead to fewer impounds as the animal control officer may be able to return the dog to the owner directly, eliminating the need to take the pet to the shelter. Fewer impounds at TMAC will save staff time and resources. Since 1994, when Jefferson County first adopted a dog registration ordinance, impounds have been reduced by 20% despite the increase in the county's population.

To get a dog license, pet owners in Jefferson County will be required to provide their name, address, phone number, emergency contact information and proof of a current rabies vaccination. Licenses must be renewed on an annual basis. Licensing forms are available at http://animalcontrol.jeffco.us, at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Animal Control Division, Table Mountain Animal Center and through many Jefferson County veterinarians, pet stores and groomers. Forms should be mailed to Jefferson County Animal Control, 700 Jefferson County Parkway, #160, Golden, CO 80401.

For more detailed information about dog licensing, citizens are encouraged to call their local Police Department:
Arvada Animal Management, 720-898-6850
Golden Code Enforcement, 303-384-8045
Lakewood Citizen Relations, 303-987-7050
Wheat Ridge Community Services Unit, 303-235-2926
Westminster Animal Management Division, 303-430-2400, ext. 4326
Jefferson County Animal Control Division, 303-271-5070

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Current Rating

Based on 1 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

Showing 1 of 1 comments

Submitted By: Tom Meiers

posted on 6/15/2007 @ 1:02:22 AM

Rated Story

I'm not to sure if I agree with this, it seems liek it's jsut goign to be a hassel.

[Report as objectionable]

Showing 1 of 1 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Office of the Mayor

Wheat Ridge , CO

Office of the Mayor has posted 186 stories and 15 comments since joining on 9/29/2005. Office of the Mayor's average story rating is 4.06.

view profile » view other postings from Office of the Mayor »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Wheat Ridge

All stories by Office of the Mayor

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad