Starting this year, residents seeking licenses for their dogs will find them either at the Westfield Police Department on Washington Street or the Westfield Animal Shelter at 178 Apremont Way. (Photo illustration by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – Dog owners in the city will have to adjust to some changes this year when they register their dogs.
Local dog owners may be accustomed to visiting City Hall every year after April 1 to renew dog license at the City Clerk’s office but, starting this year, will have to learn to go to the police department or the Westfield Animal Shelter instead.
Although City Clerk Karen Fanion retains licensing authority for dogs, Police Chief John Camerota said recently that staff at his department, which oversees the animal control department, has been authorized to process dog licenses.
Camerota said that a recent change in the city ordinance which governs dogs means that licenses will no longer be issued for the same period every year, from Apr. 1 to March 31, but will be valid for 365 days after they are issued.
He said that the staff at the department is ready to accommodate license requests immediately but said that new licenses issued before April 1 will be valid until that date of the next year. Licenses issued after April 1 will be valid for one year from the date of issue.
He said that ideally the license renewals will become staggered during the year and said “there’s no rush for them to come in. We’d like to spread it out over a four-month period.”
He noted that the license fee was increased last year and the cost to license an intact dog is now $30. A dog which has been spayed or gelded may be licensed for a $15 fee.
Camerota said that residents will be mailed reminders when the dogs’ licenses need to be renewed and they may renew them by mail or in person at the police station.
Either way, he said, owners will need to bring a rabies certificate and, in order to obtain a discounted license, proof that a dog has been spayed or gelded.
If a license is renewed by mail, Camerota said, the documents will be returned.
Camerota reminds residents that the ordinance limits the number of dogs – and cats – which may live in city residences.
The ordinance provides that, in a single family house, there may be no more than six pets and that number may include not more than three dogs or four cats. The ordinance applies only to animals older than six months of age.
In any multi-family structure, residents are permitted only one dog and one cat per residence.
Camerota said that license may be obtained at the station on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and on Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 4:40 p.m.
At the municipal animal shelter at 178 Apremont Way, licenses will be available Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Camerota said.
