By Nicole M. Wells, Special Writer
CRANBURY — For some residents found to be harboring unlicensed dogs or cats, Friday, Feb. 13, lived up to the superstitious hype that swears by its unluckiness.
That’s because Middlesex County Health Officer Lee Lloyd sent out the first round of summonses that day, notifying these pet owners that they must appear in court for lack of a 2015 dog/cat license.
To further emphasize the importance of licensing, the Board of Health recently passed a resolution recommending changes to the township’s dog and cat license fees.
The Township Committee introduced an ordinance on first reading during its meeting Monday night, incorporating the board’s recommendations.
The board recommended an increase in the standard dog/cat license fees from $7 for spayed/neutered animals to $10 and from $10 for non-spayed/neutered animals to $13.
The board also recommended that the late registration fee be increased from $2 to $5 per license for each animal registered between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28/29 and from $2 to $10 per license for each animal registered between March 1 and Dec. 31.
According to the board’s resolution, “the mandatory licensing requirement ensures that dogs and cats in the township are immunized against Rabies, thereby significantly reducing the risk that such animals become infected with rabies and reducing the risk that rabies may be transmitted to humans.”
In other words, the point of the license is to make sure that dogs and cats kept as pets are receiving regular Rabies vaccinations. Protecting pets protects people.
Mayor Jay Taylor said that residents need look no further than their own backyards for compelling reasons to vaccinate against rabies and license their pets.
“It is important to understand that rabies is a serious issue for the township, our residents and pets,” he said. “Last year, a (township dog) had to be put to sleep due to an issue involving an interaction with a rabid animal.”
After the incident on South Main Street, in which an unvaccinated dog was attacked by a rabid raccoon in the family’s backyard, the Board of Health conducted a state-mandated census in August to record the number of four-legged residents, Deputy Township Clerk Jean Golisano said.
The census revealed that only approximately one-third of township dogs and 10 percent of cats were licensed, according to the board.
“We were notified by the canvassers that dogs were at homes,” Ms. Golisano said. “We then cross-referenced our system and sent letters to those homes not in the system or dogs that that were not licensed for 2014.”
According to Ms. Golisano, a second reminder letter was mailed on Jan. 15 to those residents who did not respond to the first letter.
Both letters stated that a summons would be issued if the license were not obtained by Jan. 31, she said.
The first 12 summonses were issued on Feb. 13, with another 12 written on Feb. 20, according to Ms. Golisano.
Prior to the summonses being issued, Ms. Golisano said that she and Township Clerk Kathleen Cunningham tried to reach out to residents in a number of ways.”Kathleen and I emailed, called and talked to people on the street to remind them to get their dog licenses,” Ms. Golisano said. “If people were not in the system, we looked (them) up on Anywho.com, but some people only use cell (phones) now so we did not make contact.”
Mayor Taylor said that Ms. Golisano’s and Ms. Cunningham’s efforts are to be commended.
“I do think it’s important to recognize Jean and Kathy’s efforts to get the message out by calling residents who were not in compliance and doing everything they could to encourage residents to get licenses,” he said. “This is the benefit of a small town, where our staff really do go above and beyond to help our residents. In many other towns, the staff would not bother to try and advise residents, but simply let (the) letter suffice.”
Although he said he believes it is important for residents to vaccinate and license their pets, Mayor Taylor said that he also thinks that cluttering the court’s docket with license compliance cases is not the answer and that there should be an administrative solution.
If traffic tickets can be dealt with by paying the ticket, why can’t the same process be applied in dog/cat license cases? he asked.
“While of good intention, I do agree with a number of residents that an element of the process went too far,” Mayor Taylor said. “The summonses required a mandatory court appearance if a resident did not comply. It is my view that a condition of issuing summonses should have been an ability for a resident to comply with the licensing and avoid a court appearance. I don’t want to see a situation where we go from being about compliance to being about the punitive aspect of the situation.”
According to Ms. Golisano, there was a two-week grace period before tickets were issued. Additionally, some pet owners wound up with a stroke of luck after all.
“(Ms. Lloyd) said five are being dismissed,” Ms. Golisano said.
Second reading of the proposed ordinance and public hearing will be held on March 9 at 7 p.m. in the Township Committee meeting room of Town Hall.
Mayor Taylor said that members from the Board of Health will be presenting the reasons for the recommended changes at that time.
