November 19, 2009 – by Tamara Tragakiss
Executive Summary
A dog’s life in Connecticut may be cheap, but it’s not free. Towns charge owners a dog license fee that is set by the state, which then shares in the revenue collected. The Yankee Institute tabulatedhow much each town collects in these “Fido fees,” along with other dog-related income, and dug up some bones for fiscal year 2008. Highlights:
- State and local governments collected nearly $2.5 million in dog-related licensing and
fees in fiscal 2008. - A dog that lives to be 12 years old will cost more than $100 in dog taxes over its
lifetime, or more than $1 dollar a year expressed in dog years. - There are 211,524 licensed dogs in Connecticut.
- The town with the most licensed dogs in Connecticut is Enfield, with 5,335 dog tags.
Fairfield, Manchester, West Hartford, and South Windsor round out the top five. - Scotland has the most dogs per capita, at .608 dogs per human (336 dogs and
553 people). - Bethlehem has the most licensed dogs per household, at .236 dogs per home,
followed by New Hartford, Colebrook, Killingsworth, and Tolland. - Data suggests that compliance rates vary considerably from town to town,
with some towns clearly having high rates of pet owners who are “scoffdogs.” - Hartford and New Haven have the fewest licensed dogs per household.
- Orange has the highest rate of unaltered dogs, 42% of its dogs not having
been spayed or neutered. - 16% of Connecticut households have a licensed dog, less than half the national average of
37%, suggesting that at least some Connecticut hounds may be on the run from the law. - Of the $2,484,000 collected in dog-related licensing and fees, the State Department of
Agriculture took $1,177,000, of which $507,000 went directly towards the state’s Animal
Control program; and towns retained $1,306,000. - Animal control costs reported by the towns totaled $9,334,000
- Portland is top dog when it comes to dog-related revenue, at more than $84,000.
Others towns in the top five are Enfield, Suffield, Stamford, and Meriden. - Milford lost the most money on dogs, spending $346,000 more on animal control
than it collected in dog-related revenue. - East Lyme led the pack in the fiscal black, with a net gain of almost $7,236.
- Only three Connecticut towns made enough in license and other dog fees to “turn a
profit:” East Lyme, Stamford and Beacon Falls.
