Each June I drive to the town clerk's office and shell out $19 per dog for a license. In return I get a slip of paper that is the actual license and a metal tag to attach to my dog's collar. I keep the slips of paper in my car's glove box, so that when I take my two dogs on their morning walks, I have their licenses nearby (not that I expect anyone to ask to see them, but you never know). Whenever I travel out of state, the dog licenses, along with their rabies certificates (which are required to get a license), follow my pets where ever we go.

I pride myself on being a responsible dog owner and make sure my dogs are licensed every year. Because I own purebred show dogs, I am penalized by the state and must pay a higher dog license fee (canine tax) than those dog owners who have spayed and neutered their pets. I am all for spaying and neutering pets that will not be shown or used for breeding purposes.

Owners of altered dogs pay only $8 per dog for a license. I pay more than double the spay/neuter fee. Some of this increase is due to a higher "surcharge" that the state takes to fund its Animal Population Control Program (APCP). According to the APCP, the main source of its, "income is from a surcharge on all dog licenses. Approximately 68 percent of the program's income comes from the sale of dog licenses." Sale? I thought this was required by law and I was paying a mandated fee (tax).

According to Connecticut General Statute Sec. 22-338, "Two dollars from each license fee collected for a neutered or spayed dog shall be deposited into the animal population control account, established under section 22-380g." However, for each intact dog the owner pays $6 in surcharges per dog. Cats are not licensed, so owners of these pets are not burdened with a feline tax. Just sayin'.

Animal Population Control Program

According to the 2016 Department of Agriculture APCP Annual Report, "The APCP was created by a state statute in 1992 and implemented in May 1995. The program was established to provide vaccination and sterilization benefits for any unsterilized dog or cat adopted from a municipal impound facility. In 2007, a program expansion provided benefits to non-profit organizations to sterilize feral cats and in 2008 low-income residents became eligible to receive benefits for owned animals."

Connecticut is one of the few states that offers programs for low-income residents to help keep their pets healthy and their owners responsible. But I don't understand why I should be penalized with a higher dog license fee because I want to keep my animals intact. I think the fees and surcharges should be the same for all dog owners. I've heard over the years that offering lower dog license fees for spayed and neutered pets is an incentive to have your pets altered. But this makes no sense to me, because, licensing your dog is the law. It's not an option, it's not voluntary, it's mandatory. So, it really doesn't matter if your dog has its reproductive parts or not, he still needs to be licensed and have a valid rabies certificate.

The APCP's mission starts out, "The goals of the Animal Population Control Program (APCP) are to reduce the overpopulation of surplus dogs and cats in Connecticut and to increase the level of immunization against infectious animal diseases. To accomplish these goals, the APCP provides sterilization and vaccination benefits for dogs and cats to (1) Connecticut residents for dogs and cats adopted from municipal pounds; (2) to low income residents for dogs and cats that they own; and (3) to non-profit organizations engaged in activities aimed at reducing the population of feral cats."

It further states, "The APCP has its own dedicated account and receives no money from the state's general fund. Revenue is received from the following: annual surcharge on Connecticut dog licenses ($2 sterilized/$6 unsterilized), the $45 mandatory voucher fee, proceeds from the sale of the "caring for pets" commemorative license plate and donations.

The report said, "For FY 2016, $513,208 was received from dog license surcharge revenue, $185,857 from the $45 program adoption fee, $31,070 from the DMV for the sale of the "caring for pets" commemorative license plate and zero in donations for a total program income of $730,670" Donations? The APCP solicits public donations and in 2016 they received not a single dollar.

And on the expense side, "Total expenses incurred in FY 2016 were $780,770.26. Participating veterinary practices (245) received $530,548.61 for their services in providing sterilization and vaccination benefits for 5,246 pets. The average benefit paid for dogs was $130 and cats were $80. Administrative expenses totaled $250,221.65 of which $235,763.46 was for personnel costs. Refunds for pets that were previously sterilized totaled $1,440 (32 refunds)." Previously sterilized? Okay, I feel for those animals that had to go through unnecessary surgeries. With revenue below expenses, it appears there was a shortfall of $50,100.26. Where did that money come from? Maybe it's time to increase everyone's surcharge to $6 per dog to cover the difference, since, the APCP website states, "Effective May 25, 2018, the Animal Population Control Program will not be accepting Low-Income Voucher applications for the remainder of FY 2018."

The report stated that no low-income or feral cat vouchers were issued for Newtown in 2016. For full details of this report visit ct.gov/doag and click on the Animals and Animal Health link. Fascinating reading.

Lisa Peterson writes about history, horses and hounds at lisaunleashed.com. You can reach her at lisa.peterson@barngirlmedia.com.