Dog Licensing is the Law: How Radnor Veterinary Hospital Can Help

All dogs living in Pennsylvania must be officially licensed by the age of 3 months. Annual licenses have to be updated by January 1 of each year—or you can also get a lifetime license, which many dog owners find far more convenient. If you do not get your dog licensed, understand that Pennsylvania’s state dog wardens are always out checking dog parks, kennels and even doing door-to-door inspections. Being found without a dog license carries a fine of $300 plus court costs. Dog licensing also comes with several important benefits, one of which is making it easier to get your dog back home to you if he or she ever gets lost.

Please refer to your respective county website to purchase a license: 

Delaware County – Getting Your Dog License – Delaware County, Pennsylvania (delcopa.gov)

Montgomery County – Dog Licenses | Montgomery County, PA – Official Website (montcopa.org)

Chester County – Dog License | Chester County, PA – Official Website (chesco.org)

Philadelphia County – Get a license for your dog | Services | City of Philadelphia

We can help you with the paperwork necessary to ensure your dog’s license is up-to-date, and we can also help you and your pet fulfill the other requirements for the dog licensing process:

• Spay and neuter surgery—The state discounts dog licenses for spayed and neutered dogs to help reduce the tragic population of lost and stray pets that weigh heavily on shelters across the state. At least half of the dogs who enter these shelters have to be euthanized because there are not enough resources to keep them there or families to adopt them. But the best reason to have your dogs spayed or neutered is that these preventative surgeries can actually extend your dog’s life by about 40% on average.
• Microchipping—This simple, quick inpatient procedure injects a tiny rice-sized microchip into your dog’s skin, right between the shoulder blades. For the life of your pet, this microchip connects your pet to your contact information so that if he or she is ever lost, a shelter or veterinary office can scan the chip and then contact you. (Having your dog licensed also increases the chances he or she will be returned to you if lost.)
• Rabies Vaccinations—These vaccines are required by law across the country and have saved countless dog and human lives since their development. Because rabies still lives in the wild animal population (raccoons and bats being the most common carrier species in Pennsylvania), which very easily comes into contact with the domesticated animal population, this vaccine is essential to public, personal and pet safety.

Please contact Radnor Veterinary Hospital at 610-687-1550 for questions about dog licensing.