Animal Services Department fined me 200 dollars?

Question

So today I opened my mailbox and found a letter from animal services labeled *Violation Notice*(I'm on Florida). It states that Im in Failure to Vaccinate dogs against rabies($50) and Failure to obtain required license tag for Intact dog($150!) + 2 subcharges of 20 dollars.

My question is do i really have to pay the money? Anything I can do to drop the fine? Im willing to pay for the rabies and even the License tag, but not for the fines. I never was told about the License tag, and I DID vaccinate the dog but they told me that it apparently was not for rabies. I would had gladly taken the dig to get vaccinated and a License tag if they had actually at least give me a call on my phone and tell me I needed further actions.


PS: Sorry if I make mistakes, English is not my native langauge.

And I have the papers that proof that the dog has been vaccinated as for the tag, I did get one for the dog, however I did not know it was EVERY year. And I hardly see how this is irresponsible, as I take good care of the dog, walk him regularly and make it get a haircut once every month. I can see now why some people don't even register the dog, what a pain in the ***.

And I'm curious where can a dog get rabies in Florida? Seems more likely that he'll get eaten by a crocodile than to get rabies here.

I do not have the cash right now, I'm vaccinating the dog on friday and getting him his tag. if I do it on friday, and ask for them to lower the fine, think they will comply? And the whole thing will end up in around 400 dollars, thats just too much.

And I'm curious What do they do when they confiscate an animal? get it in a cage for most of the day and if no one adopts it put it to sleep?

Also there is no way in hell my dog is getting neutered, that is not required correct?

Answer 1

Sorry but, as the owner you are responisble to find out what the requirements for ownership are. Pay it and learn from it.

Answer 2

It does not matter what you are willing to pay or not, you are in violation of the law and probably a very bad or ignorant owner... and this is how I figure it...
If you do not have a rabies vaccine for your dog, that means you have not taken your puppy in for his 6 month check up,AND your dog has not had the full set of vaccines, AND has not been on heartworm or flea prevention. In my town, the fine would be the least of your worries(in my town , a violation like this could run you about $1000.00 plus court costs!) . You would have only a few days to comply with the laws regarding vaccines and medical care or surrender the dog to the authorities. If you get a dog, you need to be a responsible owner and learn all you can about caring for a dog and what the dog law in your area is. NOT BOTHERING TO VET THE DOG IS NO EXCUSE! IF you had gone to the vet at the proper time, they would have given you this information. So the only one to blame is YOURSELF. So stop whining and be a man, pay your fines, and get your dog to the vet!
So here is what you need to do:
1. Make an appt at your vet's office to get your dog up to date on vaccines, get a heartworm test, get a license, get an appointment to get the dog spayed or neutered. Also get the dog on heartworm and flea prevention. You are in Fla. for God's sake!
2. Bring the vet bill and proof of rabies to the court or copy it and pay the fine.
3. Hang your head in shame and be a better owner OR surrender the dog to a shelter so s/he has a chance of being owned by someone who will provide proper vet care.

Answer 3

Your vet should have informed you when you got the dog vaccinated that you needed to have a rabies shot (it's required by law everywhere in the US). Unfortunately, without having proof that your dog has ALREADY been vaccinated and licensed, you can't really do anything to get out of the fines. Ignorance of the law does not make you exempt of the law.

Edit to Thomisina: Rabies has NOT been gone for decades. It is still going strong in many rural areas.

Answer 4

I think if you explain the problem to them, that you didn't know you were in violation, they will be willing to lower or remove the fines.

I would call up and apologize to them and ask them some questions to make sure you do all that is required by law. Then I would ask if there is any way to remove the fines, because you honestly didn't know you wer violating laws. They will probably require you to bring in proof of vaccination and tags, before they remove any fines.

Answer 5

I'm surprised that you got this in the mail. Did they not come to the house to ask about the shots or tags? Does the ticket give you a court date? You could try to appear and show proof that you took care of it. I had to do that before and the fines were dropped. I hope it works out for you. Best wishes!

Answer 6

Your gonna have to pay, it is your responsibility to understand the law in your state. Most places you need to register your dog within 1 month of moving to the area or obtaining the dog. And you should check with your vet to make sure the dogs shots are up to date.

Answer 7

Nope. You have to pay the fines AND get the vaccinations. You should have taken someone whose native language is english with you to make sure everything was done properly. And be grateful it's only 200$. In my state it can be 90 days in jail AND a 1000$ dollar fine for improper vaccination or failure to provide medical care.

Answer 8

I think you are stuck with the fine. It is the law to vaccinate for rabies and license in most places in the US and not knowing the law isn't going to hold up as a valid reason.

EDIT - Contracting rabies is easy enough. There are tons of skunks and bats in Florida and they frequently carry the disease.

Answer 9

Sorry, you'll have to suck it up and pay. Every vet I've ever used sends out reminder post cards for shots that are due. Animal Services Dept. or any animal control agency usually doesn't make phone calls to pet owners to remind them to keep their dogs current on shots, I think the general feeling is that we have to be responsible pet owners.

Answer 10

Ignorance of the ordinances is not a defense. Just pay the money and get over with it.
It's hard for me to believe that you didn't know about the vacs and license.