Photo: Heather Casorso

There are about 3,300 ‘missing’ dogs in the Central Okanagan, dogs who were licensed in 2017, but are not for 2018.

Owners of these ‘missing’ dogs are being contacted to update the dog licence registry.

The regional district can issue a fine of $300 to owners of unlicensed dogs, but if the fee is paid within 14 days, it is reduced to $150.

“We’ll be contacting the 3,282 owners in order to determine the status of the dog, so that we can update our records," says spokesman Bruce Smith.

"In the past, we’ve found about half the owners no longer have their dog – it may have died or they’ve moved out of the region and didn’t let the regional district know. Others still have their dogs and forgot to renew their licence. That impacts all taxpayers because licence fees have increasingly contributed to the cost of providing dog control services in the Central Okanagan,” Smith added.

Smith says there has been remarkable turnaround in licensing compliance over the past five years.  

"Approximately 25 per cent of the dogs that come into the pound are unlicensed. Prior to encouraging and supporting responsible dog ownership in the Central Okanagan, that figure was 75 per cent."

For more information on dog licensing, click here.