Some Valencia County pet owners will see an elimination of annual licensing fees after a unanimous commission vote on July 22.

Earlier in the month, at the July 1 Valencia County Commission meeting, Commissioner Joseph Bizzell sponsored an agenda item to review the county’s animal license fees. Bizzell felt the annual $10 fee for a sterilized companion animal might be out of reach for people on a limited income, such as veterans and seniors.

The county’s ordinance already waived the license fee for seniors so long as their pet was sterilized, microchipped and current on their rabies vaccination.

On a 4-0 vote, the commissioners revised the fee schedule, eliminating the annual licensing fee for owners so long as their dog or cat is sterilized. Owners will have to provide proof to the Animal Control Division that the animal has been spayed or neutered and has a current rabies vaccination to qualify for the fee exemption.

During public comments, Los Chavez resident Gail Goodman said the licensing requirement seems to have come about as a way to demonstrate pets had their rabies vaccinations, as required by the state.

“A license is an important safety tool. The way Commissioner Bizzell sees it as a tax,” Goodman said. “All the fees need to be reassessed. The current fees prevent reclaims (from animal control) ... licenses as proof of rabies (vaccinations) are useful tools. These are punitive impound and licensing fees. It needs further study by animal control and the commissioners.”

Bizzell said he loved what animal control does to help the community.

“I do want to curb animals running wild, people not taking care of animals and breeding. Those are the animals going into the shelter,” Bizzell said. “We need to try to help people trying to do the right thing and not charge them. We want to encourage people to spay and neuter, to get the rabies vaccination.”

Valencia County Animal Control Director Jess Weston said he agreed with the commissioner and said Goodman was correct about impound fees, which run $200 minimum to reclaim an animal.

“If they are not fixed, we will provide that through our vet,” Weston said. “We have been able to provide fencing, dog houses, shelter to people. We are trying to help the public and animals in our community.”

Even with the fee for licensing waived, residents will still be asked to license their animals with the county to help animal control check for rabies vaccinations.

Commissioner Troy Richardson said Goodman made a good point about using licensing to check for the vaccines, saying, “if you have licensing wide spread then you have records of those vaccines. When you adopt animals out, are they going out with a license?”

Weston said if they are going to be in the unincorporated county, they were and if the animal was going to be taken to a different jurisdiction, such as the city of Belen or village of Los Lunas, or even out of state, the new owners were told there were licensing requirements in those other communities.

Bizzell mentioned he had been talking to the county’s IT department about trying to do licensing online.

“People can upload their rabies documents so they don’t have to come in,” he said. “Make it as simple as possible.”

Home

Valencia County pet owners no longer to pay license fees