I’m not deputized as an officer of the law and I’m no trained tax collector. I have no desire play either role in the normal course of my veterinary life. And yet I’m effectively enjoined to act as de facto dog police multiple times every day as I explain pet license policies and procedures to my confused clients.
It earns me no money––and definitely no friends––but it wouldn’t do to leave my clients in the dark on this issue. Not when the fines for license laxity can extend to liens on your house in my municipality.
Then there’s the fact that veterinarians in my area are compelled by competition, historical expectations and infrastructure limitations to act as the County’s tag agency.
Though we do have the opportunity to opt out of this role, doing so means that our clients must drive to the one and only non-veterinary tag outlet for tags in the entire [large] county (in an industrial location, to boot). Since every veterinary hospital has always been expected to serve this function, it would enrage our clients if we suddenly refused to offer tags and forced them to go elsewhere.
Moreover, declining to serve as a tag agency would greatly diminish the license-based revenues for municipalities like mine. What would happen to our license-funded shelter? I shudder to think.
But our municipalities, so underfunded as many of them are, have a way of making things worse for everyone involved––themselves included:
Every few months yet another slice of my client pie is treated to a slew of nastygrams. The municipality-originating missives arrive in the mailbox with tidings of $60 to $180 fines. These are usually geared to the clients whose tag purchases came late that year. But sometimes they’re not. The messy database system at Miami-Dade County is such that even on-timers get cited every once in a while.
This year things got even worse: All my patients whose regularly scheduled rabies vaccines were deemed “not in best interest” (whether because they were ill, ancient or had suffered previous vaccine reactions) also received citations.
Here’s where I get angry––extra-angry. It’s not enough that I have to explain the law, deal with client complaints and help resolve these issues. I now have to explain to the powers-that-be that they cannot require vaccines in unwell animals.
It’s infuriating––enough to make my blood boil and make me want to fraudulently send the County death certificates in lieu of license fees (that’s one way to opt out once you’ve entered the system).
Want to know how much veterinarians loathe the system? Consider that at a recent veterinary meeting I happened to ask how many of those present licensed their own pets. One hand was raised. And she had just moved to the area. Figures.
****
Today on DailyVet's post: To shampoo or not to shampoo...
Add Comment37 Comments
Is this a Florida only thing? In NY we give you a certificate and a rabies tag, and then the license is supplied by the town. When people ask me about a license I advise them to call their town hall because we aren't involved in it at all beyond giving rabies vaccines. It was the same situation when I worked in CT.
drsteggy September 30th, 2009 05:58:15 AM
You northeasterners have all the luck. Why we're so backwards I'll never know. However, I have heard of plenty of municipalities across the US that are like mine in their aggressive, vet-employing tactics. The entire south, including Texas, seems to work like this, but it's spotty. For example, in Broward County, just to my north, vets are still tag agencies but many of them opt out now that there's a direct, online/telephone option for licensing. If that were the case I'd stop dealing in tags altogether.
Dr. Patty Khuly September 30th, 2009 06:04:56 AM
Same here Dr. Steggy (NH). In PA., the license is by county, and not attached to the rabies certificate at all.
FL. needs its AVMA to lobby for change. States have become desperate for revenue and are looking everywhere to get it.
I remember years ago, in NH, we had a "head & poll tax", $10 receipt needed before registering your car. It was challenged and declared unconstitutional.
I think it should be changed to "companion animal license" and applicable to all pets, whether ferrets, dogs, cats, or horses, to fund the "animal control depts." We also have a new 'vanity' car plate for the s/n fund.
I would think it somehow "unconstitutional" to place this costly burden on private enterprise.
Barb A./NH September 30th, 2009 06:26:03 AM
Doc, you vets in Florida need to go on strike. Pick a date that everyone will stop being agents for the government, get letters out to all the clients, get a volunteer to head a citizen group for the clients, and turn the clients lose on the government. Yes, it'll be rough on shelters, etc. for a while but, not only are you all acting as government agents, you've become de facto legal counsel for your clients which could be hazardous to... I'll bet your county can figure out how to set up a website registration and take PayPal in short order if all the vets opt out :)
Here in Texas, my vet hands me a spay/neuter certificate tucked in an envelope; a rabies certificate and tag tucked in an envolope. Those envelopes are for us to fill out the flap, tear it off and tuck it in with the certificate and mail in with fees for the license and the license tag gets mailed back. Those envelopes sure are convenient for filing!
Ah, well, back to the soon-to-be fiasco of the Houston SPCA and Texas J.P. court. Shall I drag myself to that hearing???
PJBoosinger http://pjboosinger.viviti.com/ September 30th, 2009 06:59:28 AM
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it's the same as Dr. Steggy reports -- the vet gives you the rabies tag and certificate, then you get the license from the city (which requires a copy of the rabies certificate).
Mary Straus September 30th, 2009 04:17:41 PM
I honestly have no idea how pet licensing works in the city I currently live in...and now that I think about, I didn't know anything about it in the other two cities I've lived in, either! Oh well. It all seems ridiculous and arcane...and I quite frankly don't give a flip whether I'm in compliance or not, and apparently the authorities in the cities I've lived in don't either or they would've made it a point to let their constituents know. I've probably got too many pets for city limits, too...but again, don't really give a flip. It's crap like this that really makes me resent the government, and the law, to an extent.
anna September 30th, 2009 06:39:55 PM
Oh, and clients occasionally ask me how to go about getting their pet licensed, or whether it's required, etc...I tell them I honestly don't know, and that it's not really the clinic's job either (said nicely, of course). I just tell them whatever records they need should be supplied to them when they check out at the front desk (rabies tags and certificates), and from there they should contact their municipal court system and do as they're instructed. Even if I did know the process for each municipality in the area, I'd probably tell them the same thing...b/c it's the city's job, not mine.
anna September 30th, 2009 06:43:17 PM
Another FWIW (along with yesterday's "we have 3-yr licenses"): our county does mail-in tags or in-person tags at the county shelter. I'm in N FL by the way.
They do require something from the vets; the vets send a copy of all their rabies certs to the county, who then send out a postcard to the owner with a notification that they have to buy a tag (and instructions). They're about a year behind on the postcards, though, I've been told; to get a current tag/license you have to take pre-emptive action and hope they can find your rabies cert even though they haven't sent you a notification yet.
Galadriel September 30th, 2009 10:11:14 PM
In my county in WA state, many vets will sell you the initial county license tag. You have to show proof of rabies vaccination to buy the tag, and proof of spay/neuter if you want the lower price for having an altered animal. You get a lifetime license tag at purchase. After that the county sends an annual notice to the home address asking you to cough up this year's fee. They also mention that if the pet is not current on rabies, then the license isn't really in effect. When I have a current rabies cert, I copy it and send it in. I've also sent in copies of the vet's "unfit to vaccinate" letter in lieu of the certificate. This year I sent in neither. Last year's letter said the dog was too old and unfit to vaccinate, and she's not gotten any younger. In any case, I've never heard anything again from the county about the dog's license or vaccination status.
Punkin October 1st, 2009 06:19:16 PM
This county tag rule makes me think I do not want to further vacinate my pets. Now that would be a shame because I actually appreciate my vet giving my rescue dogs a yearly check up.
Ingrid October 19th, 2009 11:07:41 AM
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