Dog licenses are considered permits mandating specified responsibility and privileges of ownership.
- Helps to reunite lost pets with their owners. There are over 90,000 dogs in Santa Cruz County.
4,500 dogs are lost each year. Less than one-third are reunited with their owners. A license can
be a ticket home for a lost dog and can be traced 24 hours a day, every day of the year by an on-
call animal control officer in any part of the county. Prior to the dog license, dog owners were
only required to have a current rabies tag on their dog. Rabies tags could only be traced through
the issuing veterinary clinic and only when the clinic was open.
- Ensures that dogs are vaccinated against rabies, a fatal disease. Reminders are sent owners to
revaccinate their pet prior to the rabies vaccine expiration date.
- Protects pet owners and their animals by tracking dangerous and aggressive dogs and habitual
offenders of animal laws.
- Reduces the number of unwanted animals by encouraging owners to spay and neuter pets by
- Provides additional revenues to Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter to help provide funding for
the rescue, shelter and care for the County’s lost, unwanted, injured, abandoned and mistreated
- Provides important information on pet populations in cities and can affect how government
resources are allocated to fund animal related programs.