The Regional District kicked off their dog license audit this week. Dog owners who haven't renewed a license for 2018 will be contacted by mail or email to confirm whether they've moved or do not have the dog anymore.
A fine of $300 will be levied to owners of unlicensed dogs (if paid within 14 days it is reduced to $150).
Communications Officer for the Regional District of Central Okanagan(RDCO), Bruce Smith says, “We’ll be contacting the 3,282 owners in order to determine the status of the dog so that we can update our records. In the past we’ve found about half the owners no longer have their dog: it may have died or they’ve moved out of the region and didn’t let the Regional District know.”
Licenses can be purchased, renewed, or accounts updated online or by using the My Dog Matters App. You can also contact the RDCO by phone or by mail.
Smith says when you tally up the 20,000 dogs that have been licensed, along with close to 3,300 failed renewals, and the thousands of dogs that have never been licensed, the estimate is that the Central Okanagan is home to 25,000-30,000 dogs.