Tri-Cities' communities are issuing their annual reminders for dog owners to buy or renew their licence for 2023.
And by doing so before Feb. 1, residents can save some bacon — and leave it for the hounds.
Valid dog licences in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody officially expired on Dec. 31, 2022, and each municipality is offering discounted prices for owners with new or current pooches.
The tags and registration files are said to help cities keep a database and make it easier to reunite stolen or lost dogs with their owners, should an incident take place.
Aaron Hilgerdenaar, Coquitlam's bylaw enforcement and animal services manager, said a portion of the fees from the city's program also help fund the Coquitlam Animal Shelter, which cares for abandoned, stray or injured animals.
He said, as with each community, bylaw violation tickets may be issued to owners found with unlicenced dogs.
In Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, dogs six months and older must have a licence and registration within its systems. Port Moody requires pooches as young as four months to be tagged.
Licence fees in each Tri-Cities municipality are as follows. Proof of spay/neuter is required to qualify for a discount:
Coquitlam
- $30 = per spayed or neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $47 = per spayed or neutered pet after Feb. 1
- $60 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $77 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet after Feb. 1
For more information and payment options, you can visit the City of Coquitlam's website.
Port Coquitlam
- $32 = per spayed or neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $47 = per spayed or neutered pet after Feb. 1
- $80 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $95 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet after Feb. 1
A new dog tag will be given to first-time applicants, while renewals can keep the tags as the city says they'll still be "valid for multiple years."
Port Coquitlam licences are free for seeing eye or hearing assistance dogs (proof required), and for new residents trading a valid licence from another jurisdiction.
You can visit the dog licensing page of the City of Port Coquitlam's website for more information and payment options.
Port Moody
- $20 = per spayed or neutered pet under one year old
- Applies to first-time owners only
- $30 = per spayed or neutered pet
- Applies to residents aged 65 years and older
- $46 = per spayed or neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $52 = per spayed or neutered pet after Feb. 1
- $74 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet until Feb. 1
- $80 = per non-spayed or non-neutered pet after Feb. 1
- $268 = aggressive dogs
- $560 = vicious dogs
- $17 = lost tag replacement
Residents are required to sign up via the myPortMoody online portal to receive a renewal reminder as the City of the Arts said it's committed to going paperless with the program.
More information is available on the city's website.
