Pet License Fact Sheet

1. In order for you to get your pet licensed, it must be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian using a USDA approved rabies vaccine. Vaccination is the best way to prevent this dreaded disease that still occurs among our domestic friends.  
   
2. Licensing your pet lets everyone know you are a concerned pet owner.  
   
3. Without a license tag securely attached to a collar, your pet looks like a wandering stray. A tagged animal provides owner information that will greatly increase the chances of you being reunited with your pet.  
   
4. If a citizen finds an animal wearing a license tag, they can call us at 595-3075 to find out who owns the animal and how to contact them. This can often eliminate the need for the animal to be brought to the shelter.  
   
5. If a licensed pet ever gets out and is injured, attempts will be made to contact the owner immediately. If these attempts are unsuccessful, we will then attempt to contact the veterinary clinic that issued the license and transport the animal there or to the emergency clinic for treatment.
   
6. When a licensed animal is brought to the shelter, multiple attempts to contact the owner will be made and the animal is typically held longer than an unlicensed animal. Also, you will pay a lower redemption fee to get your pet back.
   
7. IT IS THE LAW. When you have your pet licensed, you are complying with the Escambia County Animal Control ordinance. The ordinance was designed for the protection of both citizens and their pets.
   
8. A license tag is your pet's ticket home... If your pets get lost, they can't call home or call a taxicab.
   
9. A license tag can literally mean the difference in life and death for your pet. So remember... love, license and leash your pet!!!!

Some Pet Owners Believe...

"If I put a collar and tag on my pets, they will get caught

on a fence or tree and injure themselves!"

Though this is not altogether an impossibility, chances are very remote this would happen.