Plainclothes patrol may target pets without tags

The Seattle Animal Shelter, determined to crack down on people who don't license their pets, is considering sending plainclothes officers to patrol city parks.

Director Don Jordan said the aggressive licensing campaign will help protect pets by making it easier to reunite lost pets with owners and by reducing the number of lost and unclaimed animals that get euthanized each year.

The shelter estimates only about 17 percent of the city's 375,000 cats and dogs have licenses. Also, if it sells more licenses, the shelter — now supported by the city's general fund — could become self-sustaining.

"Pet owners need to recognize they need to do the right thing by buying licenses for their animals to support the life-saving work we do at the Seattle Animal Shelter," Jordan said.

Patrols at parks, in neighborhoods and at off-leash areas will increase this year from 20 hours a week to 100 hours a week. As part of the increased policing, animal-control officers will approach owners at parks and ask whether their pets are licensed. The officers probably will spend more time at the larger parks, such as Magnuson, Volunteer, Green Lake, Lincoln and Seward.

Owners can be cited and fined for not having a license, for not having the tags on the animal's collar, for letting animals run free outside of off-leash areas and not having bags to scoop up animal waste.

"We try to educate," Jordan said, "but sometimes owners talk themselves into added citations."

Having a license instead of an ordinary ID tag protects the owner's confidentiality, he said, and can deter people who find lost pets from demanding ransoms or rewards.

The city added money to the shelter's budget for 2006, 2007 and 2008, part of which will pay for more enforcement officers.

In September, the city also increased the fine for not licensing a pet, from $54 to $125. After a citation, the owner has seven days to get a license; otherwise, more fines will follow. The owner also can buy a license on the spot.

The revenue from selling more licenses will support the department's $3.1 million annual budget. It expected to collect $1 million from licensing, adoption and clinic fees in 2006; the rest of the shelter's budget comes from taxpayer funds.

"It would be really an admirable goal to see the taxpayer subsidy reduced through the support of cat and dog owners," Jordan said.

The shelter found out from a 2001 American Veterinary Medical Association survey that 33,000 of 125,000 dogs in Seattle are licensed, and 29,000 of 250,000 cats.

In 2005, the shelter assigned one employee to take charge of enforcement: patrolling parks, organizing direct-mail campaigns and following up with owners who had been cited for not licensing their pets. That enforcement resulted in about 1,000 citations and 27 percent more licensed dogs and cats, which generated about $250,000 in new fees.

"It's a regulatory fee by all means. It's very similar to having car tabs," Jordan said.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com