The cost of owning a dog — or owning a dog kennel — just went up. Hamilton County commissioners voted Wednesday to increase the fee for licensing a dog by 44 percent — from $9 to $13 — beginning Dec. 1. Likewise, the cost of registering a dog kennel increased, from $45 to $65.

        Norma Bennett Woolf, president of the Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc., said the increase “is an unfair tax on responsible dog owners who already license their pets and will do nothing to bring scofflaws into the system.”

        Hamilton County Administrator Dave Krings said the increase is necessary and the higher rate is justified because the money goes strictly to support dog warden activities.

        The county's fee is lower than other urban counties', said commissioner John Dowlin. “It seems like an unfair penalty, but there is a user relationship,” commissioner Tom Neyer said. “That's about the best we can do.”

        Ms. Woolf said there are about 175,000 dogs in the county.

        “The fact that only about 60,000 dogs are licensed indicates a high degree of failure to reach a large number of owners,” she said. “The remedy for this should not include higher fees for law-abiding citizens, but instead should recognize that animal control benefits the entire community and that therefore the entire community should pay for this service, as they do for other law enforcement efforts.”

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