: January 2010

Information on Dog and Cat Licensing in Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor, Stafford Township (Manahawkin) and Tuckerton

Responsible dog and cat owners at the Jersey Shorehave just a few more days to obtain or renew licenses for their pets.  Some municipalities charge a late fee if the license is not obtained by January 31st.

New Jersey law requires the owners of all dogs that seven months of age or older have a municipal license.  In order for the license to be issued, the owner must present proof that a licensed veterinarian has vaccinated the dog against rabies and that the duration of immunity from that vaccination extends through at least ten months of the twelve-month licensing period.

State law allows an exemption to the rabies inoculation requirement if the owner presents written certification from a licensed veterinarian that the dog cannot be vaccinated due to a medical condition or course of therapy.

Dog licensing fees in Barnegat, Manahawkin, Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton, and all municipalities for that matter, are set by municipal ordinance but there is a maximum.  No licensing fee charged by a municipality can exceed $21.00 annually.

License fees are kept by the municipality and used for animal and rabies control activities. But the state get its hand in there too.

Municipal licensing clerks also collect the following additional fees when the dog is licensed:

-$1.00 for each dog licensed that is forwarded to the state for the Rabies Trust Fund to support State rabies and animal control programs
-$3.00 is charged by the municipality for unneutered dogs and sent to the state to fund New Jersey's low cost spay and neuter program
-$0.20 for each dog licensed that is forwarded to the state to defray the costs of operating The People for Animals, Inc. the state's largest a low cost spay and neuter clinic.

The  Barnegat dog and cat license application is available here.

The Tuckerton dog license application is available here.

The Little Egg Harbor dog license application is not available online, but you can call 609-296-0675 for more information.

If you have a dog or cat in Manahawkin (Stafford Township) that was licensed last year the renewal application was mailed to you.  If you have a new pet, Stafford Township dog and cat license applications are available at the Municipal Building on Bay Avenue.  (Note that to get a dog and cat license in Manahawkin the vaccination certificate must be good through December 31st.)  Further information is available by calling Animal Control at 609-597-1000 x 8525.

For responsible dog and cat owners in southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore, free rabies vaccinations are available every other Wednesday, at the Southern Ocean County Animal Facility, 360 Haywood Road in Manahawkin.  An appointment is necessary.  Call 609-978-0127.

For information on low cost spay and neuter programs in southern Ocean County and the Jersey Shore, visit the Friends of the Southern Ocean County Animal Shelter.

                            
All photos are from the Southern Ocean County Animal Shelter. The dogs and cats pictured are available for adoption.