Innovative pet licensing solution brings new value to mandatory pet tag program, celebrating with “Free Designer Pet Tag Event” for Spokane County Pet Owners
The Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) is delighted to announce that pet licensing has become much easier and will help protect more pets. That’s because they have partnered with DocuPet (scraps.docupet.com), a social enterprise and the country’s leading provider of pet tag, lost pet recovery, and pet licensing services.
Licensing dogs and cats is mandatory in Spokane County. Despite this, under 24% of an estimated 240,000 pets in the community have been registered in the past year.
“Pet licenses are really important for the provision of animal welfare- and public safety- related services here in Spokane,” says Lindsey Soffes, SCRAPS’ Regional Director. “Properly identified animals are five times more likely to be returned home safely and at no cost to the pet owner or the community, and the revenue generated from pet licenses is used to provide care for our community’s homeless and unclaimed animals.”
DocuPet allows pet owners to register and renew pet licenses online. When licensing, pet owners can choose a standard Spokane County tag or, for an additional fee, they can select from any of more than 50 custom designed tags. They can also choose to add their pet’s name and their phone number to each tag.
Each DocuPet tag has a unique code that is linked to their free HomeSafeTM Lost Pet Service. Similar to the Amber Alert service, HomeSafeTM allows pet owners to send Lost Pet Reports that are received by local pet owners and animal welfare organizations that can help find and return the pet. Anyone who finds a lost pet can also use the code on the tag to reunite the pet with the pet owner. DocuPet provides a 24/7 free hotline to aid in the return of animals.
“We call them pet tags that help all pets,” says Grant Goodwin, DocuPet’s CEO. “Our tags help pets get home quickly at no cost, but the purchase of them also helps fund animal welfare initiatives so pets in crisis can also find safe and happy homes.”
One in three pets will become lost at some point in their lifetime. Of the 6.5 million pets that enter US shelters each year, only 11% are returned to their owners. “Registering pets and ensuring each has easily accessible identification is our way to reduce shelter intakes and provide a little stress relief for owners of wanderlust pets,” says Goodwin.
Since launching the program in early 2019, pet license registrations have increased by more than 10% over the previous year. Now SCRAPS and DocuPet are hosting a community event that invites local pet owners to come get a free designer tag, and to enter in a pet tag design contest.
“We want to make pet tags fun! We’re going to give away designer pet tags, and invite kids, artists and anyone who cares to make a design to come on out and make a drawing. We’ll then let Spokanites vote on the winners and make each available for sale to pet owners as an additional fundraiser for SCRAPS,” says Goodwin.
The pet friendly event will be held on Wednesday, July 24th, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at SCRAPS’ animal shelter at 6815 East Trent Avenue in Spokane Valley.
Spokane County residents looking to license their pets can do so online at scraps.docupet.com or by calling 1-877-239-6072 between the hours of 6:00am and 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. They may also visit SCRAPS in-person during regular business hours.
Annual pet licenses cost $28.00 for spayed or neutered dogs, and $18.00 for spayed or neutered cats. Prices are higher for intact animals. Licenses are valid for 365 days after purchase.
Regardless of whether the license is purchased online, by phone or in person, DocuPet will mail tags and an information package to pet owners within two business days.
If community members hold a current pet license, it will remain valid until its current expiry date. License-holders can expect to receive renewal information well in advance of the expiry, but, should they want to activate their online account earlier to utilize the HomeSafeTM Lost Pet Service, they can do so right away at scraps.docupet.com
About DocuPet DocuPet provides the most advanced pet licensing program in North America, driving ordinance compliance while reducing municipal costs and providing new value to pet owners. DocuPet launched its first municipal pet licensing program in 2014. Since that time, DocuPet has partnered with more than 35 communities. Its offices are in Syracuse, NY. In the last year, DocuPet boosted license sales by an average of more than 85% in the communities it serves, and helped return hundreds of lost pets to their owners.
Resources:
- SCRAPS Pet Licensing Website: scraps.docupet.com
- DocuPet Website: www.docupet.com
- VIDEO: DocuPet’s HomeSafe Service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80ZREeVIN0
