Latest News Dog Registration - It Pays to Pay! It’s dog registration time once again and Masterton District Council Senior Bylaws Officer Cassandra Trilford says it pays to be pro-active with your payment to ensure you don’t incur the 50% penalty fee if you pay after 31 July. Starting in August, Council dog control officers will begin property visits to follow up on unregistered dogs, she said. “Owners could be issued with an infringement for failing to register their dog. Also, if the dog is not micro-chipped, further infringements may apply. Since 1 July 2006, all dogs registered in NZ for the first time (by the time they are 3 months old) must be micro-chipped." Once warned, dog owners have 14 days to register their dog(s). “If this does not happen, we can take further enforcement action, which can result in seizure of the dog.” Under Council rules, any dog seized and impounded will require the owner to pay the following: - full registration which includes the 50% penalty and any arrears from previous   years - impound fee - micro-chipping fee of $42 - $10.50 per day for feeding and caring for the dog until it is collected ”We are willing to discuss payment difficulties with any dog owner and a time payment arrangement may be possible for owners with a good dog ownership history." “Please remember that if you get your dog micro-chipped by a vet, they will enter the micro-chip details in to the Australasian database (which is accessible to vets). However, it is up to the dog owner to advise the Council of this micro-chip number so that it can be entered in to the National Dog Database, which the Pound uses to identify micro-chipped dogs,” Ms Trilford said. For all enquiries call Animal Control on 370 6300 After Hours please phone 378 7752. 10 July 2009