Dog adoption, retrieval fees to increase

8/28/2003

Adopting a puppy or getting a dog returned from the pound will cost more in Fulton County beginning Dec. 1.

County commissioners voted to increase the adoption fees for both puppies and adult dogs to $15. Currently, a puppy is $2 and an adult is $5.

“We've got people coming from all over the tri-state area to get pups at that price,” dog warden Peter Skeldon said.

Each year, 400 to 600 dogs are adopted, he said.

The county commissioners also voted to raise the fee to retrieve a dog that had been caught.

Currently, that costs $6 plus $1.50 a day for boarding.

It will increase to $10 to redeem the dog and $5 a day for boarding, Mr. Skeldon said.

About 30 percent of the 1,200 to 1,500 stray dogs that the county picks up are redeemed by their owners, he said.

The food, detergents, and disinfectants cost more than the current boarding fee brings in, he said.

“We're actually losing money,” he said.

If they run out of money, the commissioners have voted to take money from the general fund.

That money generally has totaled only in the hundreds of dollars a year, county clerk Rhonda Borton said.

But with the increases in fees and the numbers of dogs involved, the income from people retrieving dogs or adopting dogs could be several thousand dollars.

License fees will remain $12. Fulton County sells 7,000 to 8,000 dog tags a year, Mr. Skeldon said.

Lucas County dog warden Tom Skeldon last week asked the county commissioners to increase that county's license fee from $15 to $20 a year. Commissioners are expected to vote on it today.