Posted on October 26, 2010 by: WayCoolDogs

A new dog licensing law in New York is preparing to go under new regulations from the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets. As of January 1, 2011, the state will no longer maintain dog licensing data, provide dog tags, or issue license renewals as a service to municipalities. All companion dogs and related licenses will become the entire responsibility of the state’s localities, not the state – even though New York will still mandate that all dogs and cats to be licensed.

Smaller localities will be handling all licensing requirements and expenses – process of paperwork for all dog registrations, providing tags, and taking care of annual renewal notices being sent to dog owners. The North Norwich Clerk Loretta L. Smith suggested that locality committees revisit and revise local laws on dog licensing, setting more standardized fees across all New York towns. Currently, there is a variety of differing rates within various counties. According to Mayor Shawn Hogan of the city of Hornell, New York localities have been literally forced into this move by Governor David Paterson in order to close the state’s budget gap.

Mandatory control over our dogs by legislature laws

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets will be establishing a “Municipal Dog Licensing Toolkit” to be passed down to dog control officers, mayors, supervisors, municipal clerks, and contact animal shelters to inform them of all law changes and how it will affect their Animal Population Control Fund, animal shelters, and dog licensing.

Currently the state is charging $7.50 for a spayed or neutered dog licensing fee, and $15.50 for those who are not. Of that, the state keeps $1 and $3 per dog respectively, distributing the remainder to counties who in turn distribute to local municipalities. It is unsure after January 1, 2011, how this split will occur. The state is now receiving 17% of each city’s collected dog licensing fees with the counties receiving 30% of the fees. This means that the cities are able to use only 53% of their licensing fees for any animal programs to accommodate.

The 2009 Hornell Area Humane Society housed over 1,000 dogs last year with only 700 of them licensed when they were picked up. Because of the new dog regulation transfer, New York cities are attempting to see how they can increase the number of licensed dogs with enforced police control for added violations. “There needs to be new and or updated animal rights legislation. A wonderful site for animal rights law is the Animal Legal Defense Fund. A New York City resource for animal laws is the Humane Society of New York. For an extensive, state-by-state, collection of animal laws, try The Institute for Animal Law.” (NYC Downtown Pets)

With nearly 45 million homes having one cat or dog in it, current laws on animal possession involve every one of us. Governmental control over our pets is being done by changing dog ban legislation, dog laws requiring dog insurance mandates, and dog taxing licensing – all pushed by animal activists groups. Here is a list of the current breeds that have been or are restricted or banned dogs across the United States, through home owner insurance companies or specific area laws:

1. AIREDALE TERRIER

2. AKBASH

3. AKITA

4. ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG

5. ALASKAN MALAMUTE

6. ALSATIAN SHEPHERD

7. AMERICAN BULLDOG

8. AMERICAN HUSKY

9. AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

10. AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER

11. AMERICAN WOLFDOG

12. ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD

13. ARIKARA DOG

14. AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG

15. AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD

16. BELGIAN MALINOIS

17. BELGIAN SHEEPDOG

18. BELGIAN TURVUREN

19. BLUE HEELER

20. BOERBUL

21. BORZOI

22. BOSTON TERRIER

23. BOUVIER DES FLANDRES

24. BOXER

25. BULLDOG

26. BULL TERRIER

27. BULL MASTIFF

28. CANE CORSO

29. CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOG

30. CAUCASIAN SHEPHERD

31. CHINESE SHAR PEI

32. CHOW-CHOW

33. COLORADO DOG

34. DOBERMAN PINSCHER

35. DOGO DE ARGENTINO

36. DOGUE DE BORDEAUX

37. ENGLISH MASTIFFS

38. ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL

39. ESKIMO DOG

40. ESTRELA MOUNTAIN DOG

41. FILA BRASILIERO

42. FOX TERRIER

43. FRENCH BULLDOG

44. GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG

45. GOLDEN RETRIEVER

46. GREENLAND HUSKY

47. GREAT DANE

48. GREAT PYRENEES

49. ITALIAN MASTIFF

50. KANGAL DOG

51. KEESHOND

52. KOMONDOR

53. KOTEZEBUE HUSKY

54. KUVAZ

55. LABRADOR RETRIEVER

56. LEONBERGER

57. MASTIFF

58. NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF

59. NEWFOUNDLAND

60. OTTERHOUND

61. PRESA DE CANARIO

62. PRESA DE MALLORQUIN

63. PUG

64. ROTTWEILER

65. SAARLOOS WOLFHOND

66. SAINT BERNARD

67. SAMOYED

68. SCOTTISH DEERHOUND

69. SIBERIAN HUSKY

70. SPANISH MASTIFF

71. STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER

72. TIMBER SHEPHERD

73. TOSA INU

74. TUNDRA SHEPHERD

75. WOLF SPITZ

Owning a dog is illegal without a license

All dogs and cats are considered illegal by U.S. authorities. Dog licenses and dog licensing laws are issued to us through some form of governmental law, allowing us to keep a pet that is considered legal only if we license them properly. Through the act of licensing dogs or cats according to law, only then will the ownership of a pet become a legal act in our home.

Throughout history we have always thought of pets or animals as our most valuable member of our family – not only for companionship but also for food, shelter and clothing. This is supported by a New York court who wrote that “a dog is somewhere between a person and personal property. A dog is not an inanimate thing that just received affection. It also returns it. ” (citing Corso v. Crawford. 97 Misc 2d 530 [N.Y., Queens County Civ. Ct. 1979]. )

“A dog or pet limit ordinance is difficult to enforce without increased presence of animal control or police agencies and often leads to a decrease in pet licensing to prevent cross-referencing of license records. If the law is enforced only upon complaint, it becomes just another law for people to circumvent and further erodes confidence in legislative bodies…Numbers have no relationship to nuisances. A person with one dog that runs loose or barks all night is a greater nuisance than a person with a dozen dogs that are quiet, clean, and kept at home.” (Canada Free Press)

* * * * *

For more dog health info, dog stories and fun stuff, subscribe to our newsletter.

Related posts:

• Majority Leader Supports Animal Protection Law
• Miracle Dog Responsible for Patrick’s Law