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Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:46am

Close up showing the head and upper body of a white japanese spitz sitting in a park

For the eleventh year in a row Selwyn District Council has achieved 100% re-registration of the district’s dogs.

A total of 14,045 dogs were registered with Council during the 2019/20 year. It is the eleventh year in a row that the Council has achieved 100% re-registration and the fastest the target has been achieved, with all known dogs registered by 28 November, six weeks ahead of last year’s reregistration.

Most dog owners in Selwyn are responsible and take good care of their dogs and the Council makes an effort to work with people to help get all dogs registered, Senior Animal Control Officer Steve Clarke says.

“People out here are pretty good, they love their dogs. People who’ve been in the district for a while know how we work and we’re getting a good response from people moving here. We do have the power to seize a dog, but we haven’t had to do that for a few years. We work with people—we do emails, texts and phone calls. If someone’s really struggling to pay we’ll discuss options with them. It’s education over enforcement.”

Another incentive is the  Gold Tag policy, brought in five years ago, which means dogs that are 14 years or older and have been registered with the Council on time for 10 years don't have to pay the registration fee. The policy was brought in to reward good owners, Steve says and this year 149 dogs achieved Gold Tag status.

The comparatively low $40 early registration fee also helps, he says, along with making the system easy to register early and receive reminders of when their registrations are due also helps with the quick registration time.

“It’s almost all done online now – we sent out 94% of registration notices electronically this year. We encourage dog owners to register early, to sign up to receive their renewals by email and use the online system.”

Fees collected from registration help to fund the Council’s dog control operation which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It includes community education and the “Dog Smart” education programme provided in schools, along with enforcement activities, operating the dog pound and providing free microchipping for the district’s dogs.

To sign up for electronic notifications and online registration, dog owners can visit our Dogs Online page, email dogrego@selwyn.govt.nz, or phone the Council on 347 2800.