JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – Many dog owners are getting notices in the mail to renew their dog’s license for 2020, but state officials warn a fraudulent website has some dog owners sending their money to the wrong place.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued a warning after identifying the web address (padoglicense.online) as selling fake Pennsylvania dog licenses. The site even paid search engines to appear at the top of search results for common terms like “ Pennsylvania dog license” or “renew PA dog license.”
The very official-looking website, which is still active, mimics the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture logo and the dog pictured on the department’s page about dog registration information.
In Pennsylvania, you can register your dog or renew your dog’s license online. In order to avoid being tricked, officials recommend you type the official website address in by hand and not do a search. The official site is www.padoglicense.com. This page has no pictures of dogs on its homepage, only a drawing of a dog in its logo.
In Jefferson County, Second Deputy Treasurer Renee Stiver said she has heard no complaints from residents about a fraudulent website.
County officials are in the process of mailing postcards to residents who will need to renew their pet’s license for the coming year. Those postcards include the correct dog registration or renewal information.
According to Stiver, 8,200 dogs were licensed in 2019, although there are likely many more dogs actually living in the county.
Find out more about getting a dog license in Jefferson County here.
Clarion County Deputy Treasurer Karyn Montana noted that many people register their dogs or renew their licenses online.
“That’s the way most people do it,” she explained. “ I print up the report every morning of people who have registered. I print up all the licenses, tape the tags on and mail them out.”
You can register your dog for the first time or renew your license online. The only thing you can’t do is get a lifetime license. That license requires special paperwork because it is only available to dogs that have a microchip.
Clarion County Commissioners have designated December Dog License Awareness Month. Having your dog registered not only helps you avoid a fine of $300.00, plus court costs, per dog, but it can also help reunite lost pets with their owners.
“Our phone number is on the back of each yearly dog license,” said Montana. “We can look in the system and find the owner and provide their phone number to whoever found the dog. We get calls almost daily.”
The County issued about 6,600 licenses in 2019, and dog owners are now getting postcards reminding them its time to renew those licenses.
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