Georgina launches online dog registration and licensing July 1

YorkRegion.com
April 25, 2018
Heidi Riedner

Georgina is the latest municipality to turn to pet-licensing firm DocuPet to boost compliance and revenue for the town while increasing service and value to pet owners.

Council approved a two-and-a-half year contract with the Kingston-based firm, which already provides the service for 22 municipalities, including Newmarket and Aurora.

The move will combat traditionally low compliance rates for pet licensing, which range between 20 and 24 per cent, according to a report from the town’s municipal law enforcement department.

A number of factors are responsible, according to DocuPet’s Savannah Vince, who said the No. 1 reason is lack of awareness. Convenience, lack of incentive and lack of enforcement were also cited.

In 2017, 2,347 dog tags were sold in Georgina generating $37,100 in revenue after expenses of $19,000.

Once the DocuPet program launches July 1, it is estimated dog tag sales would reach 4,545 by 2020 and generate $110,000 in revenue before expenses of $33,538.

“Bottom line, more pets are licensed,” Vince said, adding DocuPet not only makes compliance simple, but adds value to customers through a number of incentives, such as a local rewards program with participating retailers and a lost pet service, which has reunited 400 pets to date with their owners.

It is anticipated that over time, the service could be expanded by offering self-service kiosks for this service at the Civic Centre.

Using the DocuPet registration and licensing system, dog owners would have the option of applying for a pet registration electronically through the DocuPet website or still applying in person at the Georgina Animal Shelter or Civic Centre. Local pet stores who want to continue to offer applications for their customers can continue to do so, according to the town.

Front line staff would be trained on the new system and would input the pet owner information directly to the DocuPet website.

There is no cost to set up the system, but DocuPet will take a performance fee calculated as 25 per cent of what are considered “new” pet licence revenue that is over and above the town’s current “baseline”. A per license “fulfilment” fee of $3.91 will be collected per registration.

Georgina’s baseline of approximately 2,347 registrations (generating $57,000 gross base revenue) represents the average number of pet licenses issued annually over the past three years, according to the report.

Projections in the staff report, which assume a growth in compliance similar to other municipalities, would result in net new revenue increases for Georgina of 13 per cent in 2018, 26 per cent in 2019, and 36 per cent in 2020.

Revenues go toward operating Georgina’s animal shelter, reuniting lost pets with owners and adoption services.

Dog licences would be valid for one year, with automatic renewal notices being sent to pet owners.