When your fees go to the dogs

We often get asked why we charge dog registration fees - what do dog owners get for it?

The law makes owners responsible for controlling their dogs; this means much more than just using a leash in the right areas in public.

It falls on councils to implement the law. We think we do a good job of this and are proud of the work our awesome staff does. Running an animal management service is complex and requires significant investment. This is what your dog registration fees pay for.

Your doggo might be the 'best boi', but dogs - and owners - come in all shapes and sizes, with different temperaments and traits. Training can be patchy, and unfortunately every dog has the potential to do something unexpected.

Image: Our wonderful Animal Management team.

Many of the incidents our team responds to involve dogs we haven’t dealt with before. It’s not always repeat offenders, although we do have a few of those.

And not everyone loves or understands dogs like you do! Dogs can be polarising – just check out the comments on social media. Even dog owners have a wide spectrum of views on what the rules should be, whether they should apply to them for whatever reason, or how other people should manage their pooches. Other people are literally terrified of them.

Our service takes a skilled and experienced team, operating 24/7, who have to do sometimes dangerous and heart wrenching work in all kinds of conditions.

Animal management staff need specialised equipment from vehicles to protective gear, vet services, an animal shelter, and pet food.

We also have to cover overheads like the 24/7 call centre, payroll, administration, and legal services. It costs our district about a million dollars a year to keep the community safe, look after the dogs who end up in ‘custody’, and provide advice on responsible dog ownership.

Like other councils, we rely on the dog-owning community to chip in together to help fund this work through dog registration fees, and we’re very pleased that most do so willingly. You never know when you might need some help!