{"id":12703,"date":"2015-12-10T10:25:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T15:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=12703"},"modified":"2015-12-10T10:25:38","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T15:25:38","slug":"dog-licenses-now-available-at-county-treasurers-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=12703","title":{"rendered":"Dog licenses now available at county treasurer’s office"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChristmasDog\"<\/a>HARRISBURG \u2014 Department of Agriculture officials announced today that 2016 dog licenses are now available through their local county treasurer\u2019s office and authorized third-party vendors, but Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding also warned dog owners to be cautious about where they buy their license. Some unauthorized websites offer licenses, charging unnecessary fees, and offering little protection for consumers to ensure they get what they pay for.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour dog is a member of the family and you take care of family,\u201d said Secretary Redding. \u201cI can\u2019t stress enough how important it is to license your dog. You do it not only because you love your pet, but because it\u2019s also the law. A license allows your pet to be reunited with you more quickly if he or she were to become lost.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud those owners who license their dogs every year and encourage other owners to do the same, but we also want owners to be cautious because we have learned that there are unauthorized websites offering licenses with little to no protection for consumers. If there is a problem with the transaction and the buyer does not receive a license, he or she may have no recourse with their county treasurer. The bottom line is: protect your pet and yourself. Buy a 2016 license, but be careful where you do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Redding explained that unauthorized websites act as an intermediary, or \u201cbuyer\u2019s agent,\u201d for someone purchasing a dog license. These buyer\u2019s agents will purchase a dog license online, through an authorized vendor, and then charge an increased fee or mark-up to the buyer. This increased fee does not add any additional value or benefit to the buyer and does not assure the protections of dealing directly with authorized vendors. Online vendors that are authorized by county treasurers may charge a convenience fee for the electronic transaction, but buyers benefit from the assurance that the county treasurer and state will honor that license if the owner has proof of the transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secretary Redding advised dog owners who wish to purchase a license online to contact their county treasurer first to verify whether an online vendor is an authorized agent. For a complete listing of county treasurers and a link to some of the authorized online agents, visit www.agriculture.pa.gov and search \u201cCounty Treasurers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Under Pennsylvania law, all dogs three months or older must be licensed by January 1 of each year. The fee is $6.50 for each spayed or neutered dog and $8.50 for other dogs. Older adults and persons with disabilities may purchase a license for $4.50 for spayed or neutered dogs and $6.50 for others. Residents should note that some local governments can charge more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Licensing fees support animal control through the department\u2019s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, which is responsible for ensuring the welfare of dogs, regulating dangerous dogs and overseeing annual licensing and rabies vaccinations. An application collects information such as the owner\u2019s contact information and details about the dog being licensed, such as the pet\u2019s name, age, breed and color. The information is used by animal control and shelters to identify lost dogs and get them home safely.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about dog licensing, visit www.licenseyourdogPA.com<\/a> or call the department\u2019s Bureau of Dog Law at 717.787.3062.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HARRISBURG \u2014 Department of Agriculture officials announced today that 2016 dog licenses are now available through their local county treasurer\u2019s office and authorized third-party vendors, but Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding also warned dog owners to be cautious about where they buy their license. Some unauthorized websites offer licenses, charging unnecessary fees, and offering little protection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[6710,6711,6709],"class_list":["post-12703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-country-treasurers-office","tag-department-of-agricuuture","tag-dog-licenses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}