Tauranga City Council anticipates more than 15,000 dogs, or 90 per cent of Tauranga's dog population, will be wearing a new green registration tag by Sunday, July 31.

Owners who register their dog on-time pay an early-bird fee of $97.

Registration fees are $145 for those who pay after Sunday, July 31.

Animal Services team leader Brent Lincoln says he understands that financial times are tough at the moment, and that dog registration fees are an additional household cost.

'Even though it's hard times right now, we know most people in our community are responsible dog owners who will register their dogs.

'We want to thank them for playing their part in keeping our city a great place to have canine companions as part of their family.”

All the money from dog registrations goes back to the Animal Services team helping make Tauranga a safer dog friendly city.

Some of the services that registration fees go towards are:

-Delivery of owner education and safety programmes in schools and local businesses

-Rehoming/adopting dogs that come into our care

-Shelter facilities to care for lost dogs

-Responding to dog barking, roaming dogs and general complaints

-Installation and maintenance of poo bag dispensers (last year, more than half a million dog poops were picked up using poo bags from one of our dispensers)

-Maintaining the dog registration database.

To learn more about how dog registrations are used, visit Tauranga City Council's website.
To ensure your dog is seen wearing green, head to www.tauranga.govt.nz/dogrego to register your dog.