Dog owners in the city should have received by mail last month an application form on which to register their dogs. These were sent out in two batches, on 4 June for owners required to register by 30 June and on 14 June for those who have until 31 July to register. Any owners who believe they should have been sent forms but have not should contact the Council on 941-6643.

For the 2002 registration year, Animal Control is using some new technology to trace dogs that should be registered but haven’t yet been. The system combines two products – a job allocation system (JAS) and visual dispatch mapping (VDM).

It allows wireless allocation of jobs to Animal Control Officers in the field and also plots jobs on a map of Christchurch and the location of dogs known to the Council. A refined search will find all dogs not currently registered, and owners of these would then expect a friendly knock on the door to enquire why this is so. As primarily a dog-owner-pays operation, the provision of a quality Animal Control service relies on all dog owners registering their dogs and adopting a responsible attitude to their care and control.

Dog owners who have a good record of ownership with the Council and who agree to comply with some strict criteria are able to apply for Responsible Dog Owner Status which allows them cheaper registration fees next year.

www.ccc.govt.nz/animals