By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Centralia Police Department will begin canvassing neighborhoods on Sunday looking for unlicensed dogs and their owners.
Owners of unlicensed dogs will be given an opportunity to buy a license, but those who don’t could face a fine of $119, according to the Centralia Police Department.
The annual fee is $30 for each dog older than two months old, although it is only $10 if the animal is spayed or neutered, according to police.
However, for those not already in compliance, a $20 late fee will apply, according to officer John Panco.
Proof of current rabies vaccination (with an expiration date) is required to get the license, according to Panco.
Panco said the push is not in response to last week’s attack by a pair of dogs on a more than a dozen chickens on West Seventh Street, but an annual canvassing by the department to make sure dogs are licensed, as required by city ordinance.
For more information, visit the city’s website [1].
CLARIFICATION: This was updated Wednesday April 11, 2012 at 8:55 a.m. to distinguish the usual fee for licensing dogs and the added late fee if licenses are not purchased by the renewal deadline of Feb. 1.