Dog tags help lost dogs return home
Nicole Medley from the Coshocton County Auditor’s office is pictured preparing paperwork for a dog owner who came into the office on Dec. 28 to purchase dog tags. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – No one likes to think about their furry friend getting lost, but updated dog tags could help your dog return home safely.
The deadline to get dog tags for the four-legged members of your family is Wednesday, Jan. 31. Cost is $12 per tag for a one-year tag, $60 for a kennel tag, $36 for a three-year tag, and $120 for a lifetime tag. (Lifetime of the animal, not the owner.) If the owner misses the deadline, the cost will double.
Each tag includes the county where the dog resides, the year the tag was purchased, and a tag number.
“Each tag number is unique,” said Chris Sycks, Coshocton County Auditor. “If your dog gets lost and someone finds them, they can call our office, the animal shelter, or the dog warden and tell us the tag number and the year, and we can get confirmation to get your dog back.”
If you find a stray dog with a tag, you can also go to www.coshoctoncounty.net/auditor and click on “Dog License Search” on the right-hand side to enter the tag number and locate the owner.
There have been many times were the system has helped the county dog wardens get lost dogs back home to their owners.
“Just this month (December 2017) myself and Assistant Dog Warden Ryan Conkle were returning to town from a call and saw a dog running loose in that parking lot off of 541 and Whitewoman Street,” said Coshocton County Dog Warden Rusty Dreher. “We pulled over, caught the dog and saw it had a current 2017 license attached to it. We used our phones and computers and were able to look up an address and see it was a half a mile to three fourths of a mile away from home. We got a phone number and found out there was a contractor doing work at the home and the dog slipped off. Because of that license we were able to get it home very quickly. The contractor was ecstatic.”
Dreher also recalled an incident where they helped a local resident who lost his dog while traveling in another state.
“We got a call from someone who found a dog at a rest area,” he said. “Apparently the owner was traveling through there and the dog got away. We were able to look the license up and with a few calls got a cell phone number for the owner. We use technology to our advantage. We can look information on licenses up on our phones or our computers and the sheriff’s office, auditor’s office and animal shelter also can run licenses.”
Residents can purchase dog tags at the Coshocton County Auditor’s office, 349 Main St., Coshocton, online at www.doglicenses.us/oh/coshocton with a $2 convenience fee added, or at any satellite areas in Coshocton County for a $0.75 convenience fee. Satellite areas are Buehler’s, Rural King, Good Boy Bakery, TMK Bakersville, and the animal shelter.
“An advantage of having a tag on a dog is that if it is a stray and if it doesn’t have any tags, the animal shelter only has three days before they can sell it,” said Sycks. “If it does have a tag, the owner has 14 days to claim it before the shelter can sell it. You have a better chance of getting your dog back.”
Originally, the county would be responsible for replacing livestock lost to stray dogs and the money used to purchase dog tags would go to help fund the purchase of new livestock. Although this is no longer in affect, the tags now help ensure the health and safety of the animal. The money is now used for supplies in the auditor’s office, and the payroll, vehicle, and other expenses of the dog warden.
“There’s a myth that if the dog stays in the house, it doesn’t need a license or if it never runs lose, it doesn’t need a license,” said Sycks. “Any dog in the state of Ohio needs to be licensed and that comes from the Ohio Revised Code.”
Category: People & Places
