The Chattanooga City Council changed the rules Tuesday to make it easier for dog and cat owners to get licenses, but the council is still considering limiting the number of dogs pet owners could keep in the city.
The change will allow licenses to run for roughly 12 months from the day they are purchased. Previously, the licenses expired on Dec. 31 of each year.
All dogs and cats over the age of 3 months must have a license, purchased for $10 per pet either from the city's Animal Center or a licensed veterinarian. Those licenses must be purchased by the last day of the month in which the animal receives its rabies vaccination, according to the ordinance. The licenses are effective from 12 months from the purchase date or until the day the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Chris AndersonIf a pet owner has a three-year rabies vaccination, the license must still be purchased annually. There also is a $40 extra license fee for any dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered.
Councilmen Chris Anderson and Jerry Mitchell sponsored the resolution, saying they wanted to make it easier for pet owners to buy licenses.
But City Attorney Wade Hinton is still researching a possible new ordinance that would limit the number of dogs a city resident could keep.
When Tuesday's ordinance was first discussed in previous weeks, it included an additional section setting out fees for the owners of multiple pets, topping out at 20 dogs and cats. That led several council members to discuss whether that was too many animals for an urban environment. Councilman Russell Gilbert said he had received many complaints from constituents about barking dogs, and Councilman Mitchell said he thought a limit of five dogs per household might be appropriate.
The multiple-pet section was dropped from the ordinance and Hinton was asked to research how other towns of similar size have handled the issue. He told the council Tuesday afternoon he needs more time to complete his research.
Contact staff writer Steve Johnson at sjohnson@timesfreepress.com, 423-757-6673, on Twitter @stevejohnsonTFP and on Facebook, facebook.com/noogahealth.