With just a few days remaining in January, Union County Deputy Pete Lenhardt is urging residents to make sure they have their dog tags.
“It’s the law,” said Lenhardt, who serves as Union County’s dog warden.
He said annual dog licenses are $18, but the fee doubles after Jan. 31.
“Nobody wants to have to pay that fine,” Lenhardt said.
Dog licenses can be purchased from the Union County Auditor, 233 W. Sixth St.; the Union County Dog Warden; the Union County Humane Society, 16540 County Home Road; or online at www.doglicenses.us/OH/union. Purchases made online are payable using American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa credit cards.
Licenses are sent through the postal mail and officials ask buyers to allow up to 10 business days for processing and delivery.
Licenses may not be transferred from one dog to another and once they are purchased are non-refundable.
A dog may be licensed for a term of one year, three years, or permanently.
“The dog license helps us identifying your dog if your dog is loose,” Lenhardt said.
According to the Union County Auditor’s Office, “dog licenses are the best and least expensive insurance a dog owner can ever purchase.”
Law enforcement officials have said many dog owners do not license their dogs.
Lenhardt said many dog owners think that once they have a tag, it is a lifetime license.
He said many people also think that because they live in the country or they never let their dogs out of a yard, they do not need a tag.
“Every dog, over three months of age is required to be licensed,” Lenhardt said.
This year the fee for dog licenses increased from $14 to $18.
Officials said the increase in fees will help with the increase costs associated with having a deputy serve as dog warden.
Lenhardt said the transition has gone, “pretty good.”
Officials said that a small portion of the dog warden’s salary will come from the general fund, “to justify the times when they are doing deputy duties and not performing dog warden duties.”
Officials explained that many surrounding counties have used deputies as a dog warden for years.
“A lot of people are surprised it is a deputy,” Lenhardt said.
He explained he has ticketed speeders on U.S. 33.
“I am still a deputy and doing deputy as well as being a dog warden,” Lenhardt said.
Officials said dog license monies go directly into the county’s Dog and Kennel Fund, which is solely used for funding enforcement and housing and caring for the dogs that come into the shelter. Dog license funds are used to pay for claims on livestock killed or injured by dogs as long as the farmer has their dogs licensed.
Officials said the number of licenses sold act as a census to help unofficial determine how to best serve the community.