SALINAS, Calif. -- Dog owners, listen up. If your pets don't have a license, you could be slapped with a fine. And because of that potential price tag, one Central Coast city is making it easier for you to get one.
About 80 percent of dogs that come through the Salinas Animal Services shelter never get reclaimed by their owner.
But the problem in the first place is only about 13 percent of them are actually licensed with the city, even though it's required.
"Our compliance rates are pretty low, 11 to 13 percent when you do calculations " said Cindy Burnham, manager for Salinas Animal Services. "There's about 26,000 dogs in Salinas. We only have about 4,000 licensed."
That's more than $350,000 Animal Services loses out on for its shelter.
So, to make it more convenient for dog owners, the city has a new system where they can get a dog license online, instead of having to go into the shelter, or city hall.
There are thousands of dogs that make their way into the shelter every year.
"It is a lot of dogs," Burnham said. "It's easily close to 2,000, so we want the Salinas community and Salinas dog owners to get their dogs."
With the city losing one of its animal control officers a couple of years ago, and operating at bare bones as far as staff, Burnham said it's always looking for ways to generate more money.
"Our hope is also to increase revenue, so that it can offset our costs and perhaps we can start to increase our services," Burnham said.
A one-year license is $16 if your pet is fixed and $61 dollars if it's not. Altered pets receive a discount.
If your dog makes its way to the shelter without a license, you'll be cited $100 for the first time.
The online system cost Animal Services $10,000 for the initial setup.
Its budget comes from the City of Salinas, which is around $800,000 for the shelter. Majority of it pays for staff, while the licensing revenue is around $60,000 a year.
To register your dog online, go to: www.salinasanimals.com
