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Answers
to
Frequently Asked Questions
Why license your dog?
If your animal is missing, the dog
warden can quickly notify you that your pet has been found.
Unless
a dog is confined in a registered kennel, he must wear his license
(tag) at all
times. If he is not wearing his tag he
is subject to impounding, sale or destruction (Ohio Revised Code 955.10)
Section
955.12 of the Ohio Revised Code allows the county to hold a licensed
dog for up
to 14 days after mailing a notice of its capture to the owner, before
allowing
it to be either sold or destroyed. If a
dog is unlicensed, the law allows it be either destroyed or sold after
being
held for only three days.
Service
Dogs …
Service
dogs (guide, leader and support animals) must also be licensed, but
their fee
is waived. Once they are registered with
the county, they are permanently licensed by receiving a special tag.
Confinement
of Dogs…
Ohio
Law requires all dog owners keeping their animals “either physically
confined
or restrained upon the premises of the owner … by a leash, tether,
adequate
fence, supervision, or secure enclosure to prevent escape, or under
reasonable
control of some person, except when the dog is lawfully engaged in
hunting
accompanied by the owner … or a handler.” (Ohio
Revised Code 955.22)
If
your dog’s tag is lost …
Simply
provide the office of the Mercer County Auditor with proof of its loss
and a
duplicate tag will be issued for a fee of 25¢.
How
to claim your dog if he’s been impounded …
You
need to go to the county’s local pound and pay the costs the county
incurred
for impounding and housing your dog. If
your dog was not licensed when picked up, you must also purchase a
registration
tag before taking him home.
If
your dog moves to a new home …
The
new owner is required to record the ownership change with the County Auditor. They
must present a transfer of ownership
certificate signed by the former owner, and pay the 25¢ fee.
Definition
of Kennel Owner …
According
to the Ohio Revised Code, Section 955.02, a kennel owner is a “person,
partnership, firm, company, or corporation professionally engaged in
the
business of breeding dogs for hunting or sale.” When
a person breeds dogs avowedly as a hobby, “but
permits sales to
become such a factor that he advertises for sale” the breeding activity
and
dogs, that person “is professionally engaged in the business of dog
breeding”
and should be registered as a kennel. The
term “kennel” means any pack or collection of dogs,
over the age of
three months, kept together for the purposes of hunting or for sale. (Ohio
Revised Code 955.04)
When
to immunize…
By the time your dog is
three to four months old, it
should be immunized against rabies and other communicable diseases. Depending on which vaccine your veterinarian
uses, you dog will need booster shots every one or three years.
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