Dec 2, 2020 4 min read

Annual dog licenses in Pennsylvania expire at the end of December, but Washington County Treasurer Tom Flickinger, whose office sells licenses for local canines on behalf of the state, said sometimes it seems the tail is wagging the dog.

Washington County hoped to give owners renewing or purchasing new dog licenses the option of simultaneously donating to an animal welfare charity.

The Washington County Commissioners a few months ago approved the concept, to be known as WAARF, for Washington Area Animal Relief Fund.

“Unfortunately, all paperwork to establish the nonprofit entity was sent to the Internal Revenue Service, where it has been delayed, delayed, delayed,” Flickinger said Monday.

“I can’t ask someone for a donation when a nonprofit doesn’t exist. We will have to delay announcement of this entity.”

The aim of the board of the nonprofit would be to decide how voluntary contributions would be disbursed to animal shelters and animal welfare organizations.

Annual dog licenses in Washington County cost between $4.50 and $8.50. Lifetime licenses, which previously required a tattoo but now are more commonly associated with certification of the microchipping, cost more.

Flickinger said the state “has been monkeying around with 2021 dog licensing,” and those who adopted or purchased dogs to provide companionship during the novel coronavirus pandemic might not be familiar with the licensing process.

A move to standardize dog licensing in Harrisburg stalled, Flickinger said.

Dog owners are typically sent reminders in December to renew dog licenses, but the notices will be arriving late.

“We would have had those notices out already and people would begin receiving them right now,” Flickinger said.

Washington County has a total of 21,357 individual and lifetime dog licenses, which accounts for $131,529 spent on them in 2019, while Greene has 6,132 for $35,441, Fayette has 15,268 for $95,120 and Westmoreland has 37,320 for $280,799.

Shannon Powers, press secretary for the State Department of Agriculture, which handles dog law enforcement, wrote in response to an email inquiry, “Since the legislature has not increased dog license fees in nearly a quarter century, despite enforcement costs rising exponentially, the department has been exploring all of its options for cost-cutting.

“One of the cost-cutting avenues explored was the possibility of a single renewal notice to be used by all counties, which could not be completed in time for the renewal deadline.

“While a single notice could have been beneficial, the timing was not in the best interest of counties and their constituents. The department will continue to explore options for the 2022 license year.”

Licensing fees, she wrote, make up the bulk of funding for enforcing the dog law in Pennsylvania, such as returning strays to their owners through licenses, tracking dangerous dogs, investigating dog attacks and overseeing breeding kennels and shelters to protect consumers from unscrupulous breeders and ensure the welfare of dogs.

Bills in the state Senate and state House, which would have enabled license fee increases to fund operating expenses, did not make it out of committee this year.

“To meet Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement personnel and operating expenses, the department has committed to shifting $1.274 million from the department’s general operating funds to keep the bureau afloat through the end of the June 2021,” Powers said.

“If the legislature does not reintroduce and pass bills that would increase fees next year, the department’s kennel inspections and other key functions will have to come to a halt. Costs of enforcement will shift to local law enforcement and municipalities.”

Just under half of Pennsylvania’s estimated 3 million dogs are licensed.

There are, she said, fewer state dog wardens available because of staff cuts. Grants to reimburse shelters that house strays have been discontinued since 2012. Services were scaled back in 2019 to focus on kennel inspections and dangerous dog follow-up.

“In every area of the state, dog license sales in 2020 have averaged 83% of what they were in 2019, despite increased dog adoptions during the pandemic,” Powers wrote.

The state requires all dogs aged three months or older to be licensed. Having an unlicensed dog carries a $300 fine.