Door-to-door dog licensing program showing success
| Saturday, Jun 19 2010 12:00 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Jun 19 2010 12:00 PM
Kern County's dog licensing experiment appears to be working -- so far.
In the five months that Kern County Animal Control's two-person Public Education and Enforcement Team has been walking door-to-door issuing notices for dog owners to license their pets, it has brought in more than $104,000 in revenue.
The cost of the program -- including salaries, benefits, fuel and the purchase of a used animal control truck -- was just more than $66,000.
Profit: roughly $38,000.
"If we continue to make the revenue we're making, I'm really, really confident that we can pay for the cost (of the program) and generate more money for low-cost spay and neuter" programs, said Animal Control Director Guy Shaw.
Supervisors approved funding for the program with reluctance, fearing the money brought in through new licenses wouldn't be enough to cover the cost to put the PEET team in the field.
Shaw said he's worked to keep expenses down and focus on bringing in revenue.
The team members generally canvasses neighborhoods near city and county parks just before rabies vaccination and licensing clinics are held in those parks.
They go door-to-door, introducing themselves to residents, inquiring about pets in the home and asking if they are licensed.
If licenses are missing, they issue a notice requiring the owner to license his or her animal, answer questions and hand out information about the process, the nearby rabies clinic and spay and neuter programs that can greatly reduce the cost of the license for owners.
The purpose of the program was not only to increase the licensing rate but help the county reunite more stray animals with their owners and further cutting euthanasia rates.
Shaw said dog owners have responded greatly, showing up at the rabies clinics and taking out licenses. Animal control staff will ask the Board of Supervisors to continue the program Tuesday.
"If we can be consistent on this throughout the year, (PEET) will do what we hoped it would do," he said.
-- Staff writer James Burger
