Fishing & Hunting License Information

PA Fish & Boating Commission

PA Game Commission

Drake started the new program to add more protection to insure that the dog can be returned if it is lost, gets out accidently, or strays.

The identification tag is one more connection to the dog's home, an added secure feeling that one's dog has a better chance of being returned. A lost dog is a special grief problem. "Not knowing if a dog is dead or alive is sometimes the worse kind of pain on owner can feel," says Sherry Carpenter, a spokesperson for Animal-Vues, the locally based animal educational group.

Only 30% of the dogs lost in the Columbia/Montaur county area are now successfully re-united with their families, according to Clayton Hulsizer, Danville shelter, Pennsylvania SPCA. The national average is closer to 44%. And, a newspaper "lost and found column survey" shows that only one lost dog in fifty ever had a license tag or any form of identification.

Hulsizer believes that even a puppy under six months of age should have a license tag and some form of identification on its collar (even though the dog law doesn't make it neccesary to license dogs under six months of age). "I'm only interested in the dog's welfare," Hulsirer states, "and I want the dog back in his own home as soon as possible no matter what his age."

The Treasurer's Office maintains a complete list of dog license numbers, owner's names, addresses, phone numbers, dog's name, and description of dogs. The list is updated at the close of each day and sent at the close of each month to the Bloomsburg and Berwick Police Departments, the Pennsylvania SPCA, and the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency.

The free red metal identification tags are printed with the Treasurer's name and office telephone number, town, and zip code.

Dog licenses are on sale in the Treasurer's Office.