Even though New Yorkers are largely city dwellers who live in small apartments, many of them choose to share their lives and living space with pets, especially dogs. The practice of keeping a dog as a pet is extremely common even though it is an expensive proposition as dogs, even if they are not pure bred, can cost upwards of $2500 and that is not even taking account the vet bills, the payments that have to made to other services like dog walkers, dog groomers and kennels that offering boarding facilities for your pet when you travel. If you are not put off by the expense, the city has numerous facilities to accommodate your furry friends, dogs or cats, ranging from boutiques to spas, well-trained veterinarians, dog walks in the parks and doggie daycare.
If you want to have a dog as a pet in New York City, you have to apply for a license in order to do so. New York State law requires pet dogs to be licensed and the New York City Health Code requires every dog owner to attach a dog license tag to the dog’s collar while they are out in public. Dog owners who don’t follow these rules can be fined. For more information on applying for a dog license, do visit (http://www.nyc.gov/) where you can apply and pay for this license online. You can even get this information on the phone from the New York City information hotline 311. License application forms can be obtained at a recognized veterinarian’s office or even at an animal shelter.
It currently costs $8.50 to license your dog in New York City if it has been sprayed or neutered and you have the certificate from your veterinarian to prove this. This fee goes up to $11.50 if you cannot provide this proof. This application fee has to be paid only once after which the license only has to be renewed every year.
Aside from dogs, New Yorkers keep cats, fish and birds as pets. However, before you decide to rush out to buy or adopt a pet in New York City you have to make sure your apartment building laws permit the keeping of pets as many New York City apartment complexes emphatically disallow the keeping of pets.
