DOG OWNERS
Dog licenses are required for all dogs age five months and older. You are required to obtain the license by March 31 each year. If you are licensing your dog for the first time or the certificate on file has expired, you must present proof of rabies vaccination (available from your veterinarian) when purchasing the license along with the proper fee. The fees for licenses are $5.00 for spayed or neutered dogs, and $10.00 for unspayed or unneutered dogs.
Write a separate check for dog licenses payable to the Town of Dale. Mail the proof of rabies vaccination, check, and stamped self-addressed envelope to Sandy Noffke, Town of Dale, P.O. Box 83, Dale, WI 54931.
LOST YOUR PET?
Check the following places:
Lost Pets of Greenville Facebook or Lost Pets of Dale Facebook
Call Outagamie County Non Emergency 832-500 or
Fox Valley Humane Association 733-1717
**** Ordinance Violation - Complaint Form ---> click here ****
Form can be filled out and mailed or emailed to sandyjeff1980@gmail.com
Constable’s Corner Spring 2018
Fifty Reasons to License Your Dog:
No, I could not come up with fifty reasons to license your dog, just a few pretty good ones. Being a dog owner requires all sorts of responsibilities, and licensing your dog is just one. It may seem like a useless, nuisance, but it is quite important.
The most important reason to license your dog is to obtain proof that he has indeed been vaccinated against rabies, and evidence of a rabies vaccination is required when you license your dog. Vaccinating pets against rabies creates an effective barrier between potentially disease carrying wild animals and humans. In Dale, we are surrounded by wetlands and woodlands, which provide homes to an abundance of wild animals. The animals that have the highest potential of carrying and spreading the deadly rabies virus are bats, skunks, foxes, and coyotes. Although current regulations do not require cats to be vaccinated against rabies, all cats and ferrets should also be vaccinated against rabies. We need to continue to vaccinate our pets against rabies to prevent this fatal, viral, zoonotic disease from becoming a serious public health problem.
Half a dozen times over the years I have had to deal with the threat of rabies. The most heart wrenching by far was receiving a call about an unvaccinated, outdoor, pet cat that had brought a bat home for her two kittens and the other family cat play with. The father of the family took the bat away from the cats and smashed it. I consulted the Outagamie Health Department as to how to handle the situation. The specimen was sent through the Outagamie Health Department to Madison for rabies testing; however, the lab was unable to test the specimen because it was too mutilated. At that point, the family had two options. They could quarantine the cats at their house for 180 days and maintain minimal contact with them, thus ensuring no one would get bitten. This would be difficult, as their three young daughters, who adored the cats and kittens, would want to pet and be around their friendly pals. After 180 days, if the cats remained healthy, they could then be vaccinated against rabies and live happily ever after.
The second option was to have them humanely euthanized, disposed of, and verified by a qualified veterinarian. The family did not want to pay a veterinarian, so the dad’s plan was to shoot the unsuspecting pets. I was able to work swiftly with Fox Valley Humane Association to have the cost reduced drastically. It was a beautiful day in June when I headed to their home to pick up the trusting pets, but the darkest of dark days for my heart when I went to their house to pick up the two calico adult cats and the two 10-week old fluff balls. All three girls watched me with tears in their eyes as I, the mean, old dogcatcher, armed with big gloves, loaded their beloved pets into kennels and hauled them to my truck. I never felt so cruel. Yes, I cried as I drove away. The moral of the story is that the threat of rabies remains serious even if the chance of exposure appears to be nearly next to nothing. That next-to-nothing chance could one day become deadly.
The next best reason to license your dog is to ensure that if he goes missing but has a dog license tag, he will be returned to your family more quickly and with less cost than an unlicensed dog. The license identifying number can be looked up on the Outagamie County software program, and the owner can be quickly contacted. Wisconsin State Statutes 174.07 states “…The owner shall securely attach the tag to a collar and a collar with the tag shall be kept on the dog at all times. …” Although some exceptions to this statute exist, it is best practice for dogs to wear a collar with their license, an identification tag with the owner’s phone number, and a rabies tag from the veterinarian. These ID tags could ensure that your lost dog is returned home more quickly since people are more confident and likely to handle and care for a dog if he is wearing a collar with ID. I myself approach a dog that is wearing a collar with a different mindset than one without a collar.
Another reason you should license your dog is because it is the law. It is stated in Wisconsin State Statues, in the Outagamie County Dog Regulation Guideline Manual, and in our Dale Dog Ordinance that all dogs over 5 months of age must have a license. Licenses need to be acquired at the beginning of each year before March 31. If the Town Constable becomes aware or involved in a dog situation and your dog is not licensed, you are subjected to being issued a citation of $169.00 per unlicensed dog.
So please do the right thing: get your dog(s) licensed. Licensing eliminates the spread of rabies, provides a secure form of dog identification, is low cost unless you fail to acquire a license, and simply is the law.
I can’t close this newsletter without saying a big thank you to all outdoor cat owners and caregivers who are utilizing the twenty-five-dollar Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program at the Fox Valley Humane Association. It is making a huge difference in our Town by lowering the feral cat population and providing better lives for cats that have gone through TNR.
As always, if you have any animal related concerns or questions, feel free to call or email me, and we can work together to make all animals’ lives the best they can be.
Sandy Gadamus
Dale Constable and Humane Officer
Sandyjeff1980@gmail.com