In Mendota Heights Area, Pet Licensing Lags

Lucy, a 6.37 lb. buff-colored "poochon," became the very first dog licensed by the city of Lilydale last October, despite a dog license ordinance that has been on the books since 1976.

Before that, former city administrator Teish Stafne joked that there must not have been any dogs residing in the city. 

In Mendota, only two individuals have registered their pets with the city, even though pet licensing is required by law, City Clerk Jennifer Bruestle said.

In the city of Mendota Heights, about 300 pets were issued licenses in 2011. Sandie Thone, the city clerk of Mendota Heights, attributed that to promotional efforts on the city’s website and in Heights Highlights.

Thone said the goal of pet licensing is to enable the identification of lost pets and to ensure pets have had a rabies vaccine.

On the To-Do List?

Debbie Goldberger of Mendota Heights said she has not yet registered her three-year-old Australian Terrier, Ziggy.

“I keep forgetting, to be honest,” she said. “I called right away when I got him, but he had to have the first set of vaccines, and he hadn’t had them yet.”

She said she didn’t mind paying the cost of a license, but that she also wasn’t worried about Ziggy’s failure to get licensed since he never goes off leash or into a dog park and he’s been micro-chipped.

“I suppose it’s a good thing,” she said. “It’s another way for the city to get some money.”

In Lilydale, a lifetime license costs $20.

Mendota Heights raised the price of dog licenses last February from $3 to $5 for spayed and neutered pets and from $6 to $10 for non-spayed and non-neutered pets.

“Staff determined the current cost of licensing was unable to cover the current licensing costs,” Thone wrote in an email. “The license fees help to defray the cost of licensing (personnel, paperwork, the dog tags) and the cost of compliance/animal control.”

In Mendota, licenses are free, but residents must still register their pets—dogs and cats under 40 pounds—with the city and show proof of a rabies vaccine, Bruestle said. Animal control provided to the area by 4 Paws Animal Control may detain unlicensed pets.

“It really hasn’t been a problem in the past," said Bruestle. "Our city is small enough that if there is a problem with an animal people usually know who that animal belongs to."