Dog owners who haven’t licensed their pets soon will get a knock on the door and will face a $75 per-canine fine from the New Canaan Police Department.
According to Officer Mary Ann Kleinschmitt of the department’s animal control unit, some 500 dog owners from 2011 hadn’t licensed their pets as of Aug. 1 last year (against a July 1 deadline)—landing on the “delinquent dog licensing list.”
Many of those residents have since registered their dogs, but police officers now will start making house calls on those that haven’t, Kleinschmitt said.
“When we go to the house and if they still live there and still have that dog, they will get a ticket,” she said.
Specifically, the owners will be cited for failure to license a dog, an infraction offense.
If the dog also hasn’t been vaccinated for rabies, the owners face an additional $136 fine, she said. (The state also imposes a $1-per-month fine.)
Dog owners seeking to avoid the late fee (Kleinschmitt herself has to issue the fine as the enforcement officer; Town Clerk is licensing agency) can still get to the Town Clerk at 237 Elm St. for their dog license and their names will be removed from the delinquency list straightaway.
Here’s all the information you need on town dog licenses, straight from the town website. All dogs six months or older must register with the Town Clerk.
