The Town of Colonie held a public hearing Thursday, March 26, to address a couple of minor changes to the town’s dog licensing law, and although the changes prompted few tail wags, they are intended to make it easier for senior citizens to afford the licensing fees and provide more time to reunite lost pets with their families.
Town Clerk Elizabeth DelTorto said it is important for residents to have their dogs licensed in the towns they live in because it is a matter of public safety.
So a dog cannot cause harm to a person or property, she said.
DelTorto said there are more than 8,000 dogs licensed in the town, representing nearly 10 percent of the town’s human population. Cats do not require licenses in the Town of Colonie.
DelTorto said town law states that any dog over 4 months old should be licensed, and, by definition, any dog that is `harbored` in the town should be licensed.
If the dog is spayed or neutered, licensing is $6. If the dog is not, the cost of licensing is $14.
The town does offer a discount for senior citizens, which was one of the topics of Thursday’s public hearing, as the defined age of a senior citizen for the purposes of dog licensing was increased from 62 to 65.
The cost for a senior citizen to license his or her dog that has been spayed or neutered is $2.50, while the cost to license an unaltered dog is $10.50.
During the public hearing, Colonie resident Jennifer Barone said the discount should be expanded to other groups.
`I think that should be applied to disabled people as well,` said Barone.
DelTorto said there is an exemption in place for service or therapy dogs, but Barone wanted the definition broadened.
`I think [the discount] should be applied to all low-income people,` she said. `There are a lot of people struggling to pay their bills.`
According to DelTorto, if the dog is not altered, $3 out of the $14 license fee goes toward the New York State Animal Population Control Fund, a program that encourages New York residents to have their dogs spayed or neutered.
Fifteen percent of the dog licensing fee goes toward an Albany County program that protects livestock on farms.
According to DelTorto, this program seeks to safeguard the town’s livestock by keeping dogs out of farm areas in the town through the use of buffers and monitoring of the farm land. However, DelTorto said, typically the amount of money collected by the county is not used in its entirety and is reimbursed to the town.
This year, the town was reimbursed $2,775.45 on Thursday, March 19, according to a memo sent by the Albany County Finance Department.
DelTorto said there are also options for purebred dogs.
The other topic discussed at the public hearing Thursday was what would happen with an unlicensed dog, should it be picked up by the town’s animal control officers.
In the past, the dog was immediately transported to the Mohawk and Hudson Humane Society in Menands. DelTorto said dogs would now be kept at the Latham Animal Hospital for five days, giving owners more of a chance to locate their pets before they are transported to the animal shelter.
DelTorto said she was glad that the town was able to work out the arrangement with the Latham Animal Hospital because it gives the town a longer time to connect lost pets with their families.
Dog licenses do need to be renewed on a yearly basis, DelTorto said, and that can be done by mail or in person at Memorial Town Hall 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday. When licensing a dog, a person should bring proof of vaccinations, proof of spay or neuter, the dog’s age, name, breed, color and any other identifying marks.
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