SPRINGWATER, ON (February 5, 2021) – The jingle of dog tags won’t be the only way to find your pooch when he bolts from the trail.
Springwater is announcing a new online program that will not only register your dog with the township, but also help you track him down when he strays too far.
“We do have a lot of people who come in and say ‘has anyone called about my dog?’,” said Springwater’s senior bylaw enforcement officer Brittany Kellington. “A lot of people want to do things online and now we can track them online too.”
The township has partnered with DocuPet, which not only offers an online payment process for Springwater Township dog owners, it also allows dog owners to upload profile pictures of their dogs in case they wander off.
The new program comes with one of 170 numbered designer tags with a pet identification code linking to the pet’s profile online. A found dog’s tag numbers can be searched on the township’s system and the dog can be reunited with its owners directly.
“Running an effective pet identification program is incredibly important for the welfare of pets,” said Grand Goodwin, CEO of DocuPet, in a press release. “Keeping lost pets out of shelters and returning them to their parents is our priority.”
The cost for a full 365 days is $20 for a neutered or spayed pet, $25 if not fixed, $200 for a dog classified as dangerous and replacement tags are $7.
Across the region, most townships offer online purchasing of dog tags. While some animal control departments shut down temporarily last spring when COVID-19 lockdowns were introduced, many have reopened their billing programs again, such as Midland, Innisfil, Oro-Medonte and New Tecumseth.
Barrie’s Una McWatt was walking her 10-year-old golden retriever Daisy through the Springwater forest off Nursery Road on Tuesday.
“In Barrie we pay online one time for the lifetime of the pet,” McWatt said.
Joe Strauss also remembers his wife paying for the tag online as his two-year-old retriever bounced around with a stick.
“It was easy,” he said. “They just mailed us the tag.”