By Ronald R. Arias
Director of Health and Human Services Department
State law requires that all dogs over the age of four months be licensed with the local animal control agency. Licensing ensures that a dog has a current rabies vaccination and promotes responsible pet ownership. While many responsible pet owners voluntarily comply with licensing requirements, many others are unaware or unwilling to register their animals. Unregistered and unvaccinated animals pose a threat to public health and safety.
Proactive enforcement is necessary to ensure compliance and to keep the community safe. Voluntary compliance is not enough. Agencies throughout the region conduct ongoing door-to-door canvassing efforts to register animals, verify rabies shots, and generate necessary revenue to support safety operations.
The process of license canvassing results in direct contact with the pet owners and provides the opportunity for education about animal care issues. Without a regular census, it is impossible to determine how many animals reside in the community. Currently, there are approximately 180,000 households in Long Beach and 36,000 licensed dogs in the city’s database. The true number of dogs in the city is estimated to be much higher.
License canvassing also promotes spaying and neutering activities, helping to mitigate overpopulation and limit the number of unwanted dogs in Long Beach. Currently, the price to license unaltered animals at $90 per year is much higher than the price to license an animal that has been spayed or neutered at $20 per year. This policy can lead to a reduction in the use of resources required to impound and care for feral or stray animals.
License canvassing also generates revenue to support the Animal Care Services Bureau. Since initiating a door-to-door dog license-canvassing program in the first four months of FY 09, the City of Long Beach Animal Care Services Bureau has generated over $246,113 in license revenue and penalties. However, revenue generation is not the primary reason for canvassing.
The Animal Care Services Bureau budgets and staffs four part-time license canvassers. However, these few canvassers are responsible for a five-city area covering more than 600,000 residents. In addition to Long Beach, the canvassers dedicate time and energy to Cerritos, Signal Hill, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos to fulfill the City’s contractual obligations for requested dog license canvassing.
At the July 22, 2008 City Council Meeting, the Long Beach City Council approved a contract for seasonal canvassing with the County of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control (County) for up to 2,100 hours of canvassing work. The total amount of the agreement is $116,487. Per the agreement, the County guarantees that it will collect sufficient dog license fees to offset the City’s payment to the County and, if the County fails to collect sufficient fees to offset the amount the City owes, the City will only be obligated to pay the County an amount equal to the dog licensing fees collected by the County, regardless of the hours of service expended by the County. To the extent that the County collects more than this amount in licensing revenue, the City will pay 25 percent of excess revenue to the County.
The best strategy for keeping animals healthy and safe is responsible pet ownership which includes licensing, vaccinating, and spaying or neutering one’s animals. The entire community is needed to create a safe and healthy environment for people and animals.
Thank you for your consideration and for promoting responsible pet ownership among the residents of Long Beach. Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me at (562) 570-4016, or John Keisler, Animal Care Services Bureau Manager, at (562) 570-3051.
