The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved an ordinance codifying legislation on dogs with amendments on the Responsible Dog Ownership Ordinance of the city.
The council stated that among the responsibilities of dog owners include acquiring and maintaining dogs only if they are capable of providing the care necessary for the needs of the dogs; submitting the dogs for mandatory registration and regular vaccination and maintaining updated records; providing dogs with grooming, adequate food and clean shelter; maintaining control over their dogs with the use of a lace when in public places and collect their excreta or feces; taking all measures to prevent a dog from being stray or nuisance; within 24 hours, reporting immediately any dog biting incident and taking the appropriate precaution, and assisting the dog bite victims and shouldering all expenses incurred relative to the victim’s injuries.
City legislators pointed out that no person shall own or keep any dog 3 months of age without first having been registered with the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) or during mass registration organized by the barangay.
Further, a registration certificate shall be issued by the CVAO to the owner upon the registration of the dog.
The council added that the issued registration certificate shall contain the identity number of the dog, which shall be permanent or until the lifetime of the animal, except in cases of transfer of ownership.
Under the proposed ordinance, all dogs shall be vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian or a trained vaccinator under the supervision of the CVAO. If done by a private veterinarian, the owner of the vaccinated dog shall submit record or proof of vaccination signed by a licensed veterinarian upon registration.
According to the council, the mandatory registration of the dog may be done through micro-chipping; use of a dog tag and other means as determined to be safe and reliable by the CVAO such as the use of radio frequency identification among others.
The council pointed out that the choice of the method of registration shall be at the option of the dog owner pursuant to existing rules and regulations.
The council tasked the CVAO to maintain an updated database of all the information required, which shall include if feasible among others name, address, contact number, email address and other vital information pertaining to the registered dog owner; name, breed, sex, color and other pertinent information pertaining to the registered dog; date of rabies vaccination and expiration, vaccine used and name of the veterinarian that administered the vaccination.
The council cited that all necessary information as required should be contained in the dog tag; for uniformity, all dog tags must be secured from the CVAO and the dog tags must be worn with a dog collar on the dog.
Registration fee of the dogs shall be P50 including the issuance of the registration certificate; dog stage with inscription – P250; cost of microchip with inscription and implementation – P250 and re-issuance of certificate – P100. By Dexter A. See