Shilo, a golden retriever, lives up to his breed as he chases a ball into the pool at a Dog Paddle Pool Party at Alameda Park in Butler Township. Butler Eagle File Photo

An amendment to the state Dog Law will license fees and fines for violations, and eliminate the discount for licensing a spayed or neutered dog beginning Feb. 1.

Act 18 of 2023, known as the Dog Law Modernization Act and sponsored by Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, became law in October. The law raised the cost of annual dog license by 20 cents starting Dec. 1, but delayed increases in the cost of lifetime and senior licenses, and the elimination of spay/neuter discounts until Feb. 1.

As of Dec. 1, an annual regular license costs $8.70 and an annual licenses for senior citizens over the age of 65 and people with disabilities cost $6.70. A $2 discount applies for dog that were spayed or neutered.

Beginning Feb. 1, the annual license fees will remain the same, but the cost of regular lifetime license will increase from $51.70 to $52.70, and the cost of senior citizen lifetime licenses will increase from $31.70 to $36.70, said Diane Marburger, county treasurer. Dog licenses can be purchased at the treasurer’s office.

The spay/neuter discount, which ends Feb. 1, lowered the cost of a regular lifetime license to $31.70 and the cost of a senior citizen lifetime license to $21.70, she said.

“That’s a $15 penalty for senior citizens,” Marburger said.

Those fees apply for licenses purchased in person or via the mail through the treasurer’s office.

For online purchases, a $2 convenience fee is added to the cost of regular annual licenses and a $1.75 convenience fee is added to senior citizen licenses. Those fees are currently reduced by 25 cents each when the dog has been spayed or neutered, but those discounts will also end after Feb. 1.

Lifetime licenses cannot be purchased online, Marburger said. People who buy regular or senior citizen lifetime licenses in person using a credit card at the treasurer’s office will be charged a $4 fee for using the card, she said.

The law allows the secretary of agriculture to increase fees again by $2 on Dec. 1, 2025, and $1 on Dec. 1, 2027.

Other provisions of the law increase the fine for an unlicensed dog to up to $500; increase the fine for a summary offense to $1,000; increase fines for misdemeanors to $5,000; and increase the annual registration fee for keeping a dog that has been deemed dangerous to $1,000.

License fees and fines were last increased in 1996.

Marburger said the fees and fines were increased to provide help the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement out of it’s budget deficit.

“The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement is going to making a little more money for enforcement purposes,” Marburger said. “They need this cash infusion because they have been running at a deficit.”

She said the bureau and its dog wardens inspect kennels and shelters, respond to dangerous dog incidents, investigate cases and make court appearances in addition to overseeing licenses.

“I can see how they need this,” Marburger said.

County treasurer offices receive $1 for every annual dog license sold to a resident of their county, $3 for every lifetime license sold and 70 cents to cover administrative expenses like postage and envelopes, she said. All of the 20-cent license fee increase that took effect Dec. 1 went to county treasurers to help cover those administrative expenses, she said.

In addition, the law requires dog owners to license their dogs when they buy or adopt them or by the time the dog reaches 3 months of age, said Shannon Powers, Department of Agriculture spokesman.

The previous law required dogs to be licensed when they reached 3 months of age or older, she said.

According to the department, the new law requires sellers and adopters of dogs to provide new owners with a copy of the dog license application and a licensing brochure.

The law addresses the bureau’s insolvency, allows the bureau to hire additional wardens for understaffed regions and ensures that there is enough staff to oversee kennels and dangerous dog follow-up.

Under the law, dogs quarantined after attacks on humans must be muzzled, leashed and under physical restraint by a reasonable person. The law makes it easier for law enforcement to make a dangerous dog determination, simplifies the filing and prosecution of dangerous dog charges and makes owners financially responsible if their dangerous dogs are seized and held.

The law also provides stiffer penalties for operating illegal kennels; creates isolation requirements for imported dogs as a proactive step in disease control; allows the department to revoke a kennel’s license or refuse a kennel license application from people convicted of animal cruelty; requires kennels to include their federal, state or local license number in dog sale advertisements and requires anyone selling dogs directly to the public to post the dog’s identifying information, the location of the breeder, state or federal license number, proof of vaccinations and any known bite history.