HARLEM — Dog owners are shaking their heads at the city’s new dog licenses being unveiled this year.
Instead of getting their annual renewal sticker for their pet's tags — which confirm the license is up to date — owners are getting a document they are supposed to carry around with them whenever they walk their dog.
“When I received my [renewal] letter I was looking for the sticker,” said Millie Gonzalez who helps run the Marcus Garvey Park Dog Walk. “I’m looking for the sticker, and then when I read the letter my first thought was, ‘What a stupid idea.’”
The stickers have been discontinued and are being replaced by paper certificates, according to a letter mailed out to dog owners renewing their licenses.
State law requires all dog owners to license their pets, according to the Health Department.
The agency changed the dog licenses to make the process more user-friendly and offer new benefits. People can now pay for licenses for multiple years at once and download the PDF version of the paper certificate anytime to their computer or smartphone, a spokesman said.
The price of licenses — $8.50 for spayed or neutered dogs and $34 for those that are not — won't change, according to the website.
Nonetheless, dog owners said the new certificates are inconvenient for people who don’t have smartphones and can't easily access a digital version. It will be especially inconvenient for seniors, Gonzalez said.
Despite the concerns, some dog owners noted the positives of the license change. For instance, the process to apply for and renew licenses has been upgraded, said Garrett Rosso, a board member for New York Council of Dog Owner Groups.
“In the past, the dog-licensing system was completely archaic,” Rosso said. “Now they have a nice, user-friendly website, it’s very easy to understand. You also have an option to license your dog for one, two, three, four or five years.”
Being able to get longer licenses make sense because people don't get a dog for just one year, he added.
Still, Rosso shares some of Gonzalez’s concerns. People will likely not carry a piece of paper with them whenever they walk their dog, especially if they don’t have a smartphone, he said.
Additionally, he is worried about whether the change will impact enforcement.
If people are stopped and asked to prove they have a dog license, it will be more difficult to produce a piece of paper than pointing to a sticker on your dog’s tag, he said.
The NYPD issued 173 summonses for owners not having dog licenses in 2014. They do not plan to alter their enforcement policy because of the license change, a police spokeswoman said.
Manhattan Paw Walkers, a dog-walking businesses based on 137th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, said it will change the way it checks for dog licenses but doesn't see the move affecting the company too much.
"We’ve never been asked by an official, but that doesn’t mean I don’t make sure the dogs are licensed,” said owner Vera Torres. “It’s like insurance. I don’t use it, but I want to make sure I have it.”
Torres and her staff are going to ask dog owners to share their certificates with them so that they can add it to an online database that is shared by the entire staff. That way if any of the walkers are stopped, they can produce a license, Torres said.
