Kitchener gives humane society $137,400 bailout

TheRecord.com
Aug. 8, 2016
By Jeff Outhit

Kitchener council has bailed the local humane society out of a cash crunch without solving the problem that caused it.

How do you persuade more dog owners to obey a city bylaw and license their pets, at an average cost of $40 per year?

Cynthia Philip wonders if a lower fee might persuade more owners that dog tags are worth it. Her puppy Titus is licensed. She thinks having a dog tag makes sense, to encourage responsible ownership.

But she's happy that because Titus is training to be her service dog, the fee is paid for her.

"I looked at the prices. They're ridiculous," she said, citing a $60 annual fee for a dog that's not sterilized. "That's expensive. If I had to pay for it, it would be really steep, because I'm on a fixed income. It's going to take money away from something else."

The Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society sells dog tags to help pay for animal welfare, including connecting lost pets to owners. The agency sold 14,308 tags in 2015, generating $576,000 shared by the agency and city hall.

The humane society estimates, however, that two-thirds of Kitchener pet owners don't buy dog tags. Annual fees range from $30 to $60 with late fees on top.

Public disinterest in dog licensing helped create money woes that council eased Monday with a $137,400 bailout of the humane society.

The one-time infusion is meant as "additional compensation" for the work the humane society does for city government, under contract through 2017. This includes collecting stray dogs and cats, conducting inspections, removing dead animals, and enforcing animal bylaws.

"Obviously, there are a lot of people who choose not to get a licence," Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said. "That's something that our licensing officials and humane society officials are working on. How do we up those numbers?"

He said the city hasn't considered eliminating a fee that most pet owners aren't paying.

"That would then put the burden of the entire animal control operation on the taxpayers of the City of Kitchener, without any contribution from dog owners," he said.

Justin Hayward has licensed his dog Drake. He believes registering Drake will help in case his pet goes missing. "I think it's important to have your dog licensed," he said.

Perhaps the cost dissuades some owners, he said. Or perhaps some owners see licensing as meaningless if their pet rarely leaves their house or yard.