The sum of £10 per dog is payable in January of each year in respect of all dogs over 6 months old, except dogs for deaf, disabled or blind persons. In addition each dog will receive a coloured disc for their collar to show they have paid their tax for the year.
Dog Tax and Micro chipping
In St Martin the money collected from taxing dogs was used to provide an additional seven bins to those supplied by the States of Guernsey. These bins are maintained and emptied each week by our Parish handyman.
This year (2013) we have also decided to use this money to support the GSPCA microchipping initiative to ensure that pets can be easily and quickly identified should they stray or be involved in an accident.
You can have your dog microchipped for free by the GSPCA by contacting the GSPCA to make an appointment on 257261 or by email at steve-jbyrne@gspca.org.gg. You will need to produce your Dog Tax receipt for this year and show it to the GSPCA who will then send an account to the Parish for the cost of the microchippping.
The various Veterinary practices also provide a microchipping service to pet owners. However there are a range of different microchips with a variety of functions and the cost of having these installed by a vet will be more expensive.
The Douzaine has decided to treat all dog owners equally so that if a dog owner prefers to have a microchip fitted by a vet we will issue a voucher to the dog owner which can be given to any veterinary practice supporting this initiative. The practice will reduce the cost of inserting the microchip by £5.00 and return the voucher to the Constables Office to reclaim the £5.00 from the Parish.
We are pleased to say that the two local veterinary practices, Puffins and Vets4Pets have agreed to participate and will extend it to their other island practices. Isabelle Vets have also agreed to participate and we are hopeful that other veterinary practices will also join in.
Should you wish to obtain a voucher please call at the Constables Office in Grande Rue, St Martin.