Owning a dog in Dartmouth may cost a little bit more next year, after the Select Board approved a proposed Town Meeting article that would raise dog licensing fees by $3 for spayed or neutered animals.

If ratified by Town Meeting, fees would increase from $12 to $15 per year for 2022. 

The increase would go towards contracting a new licensing program called PetData, which would allow residents to apply and pay for their licenses online.

“They’d be able to do everything for us, including sending out invoices and problem solving, sending out the tags, and uploading any information,” explained Town Clerk Sarah Arruda at the March 8 Select Board meeting.

The Town Clerk’s office currently registers between 3,500 and 4,500 dogs each year.

“It’s not a difficult task, but it’s very data-entry heavy,” Arruda noted. “[The new program] would allow myself and my staff to focus more on doing all of the input of the census in house.”

According to Arruda, the new program would also allow Dartmouth’s Animal Control officers to search the database for animals registered in a particular area while out in the field.

Dogs that aren’t spayed or neutered would still cost $20 to register with the town.

“This is a perfect case of taking the antiquated system we had and turning it into something not only more efficient, but also friendlier to our residents as well,” commented Select Board member David Tatelbaum.

“I certainly hope so,” said Arruda. “As a resident with two dogs myself, I want to pay everything online!”

“But if people still wanted to come in, we have that ability,” she added.

The Select Board unanimously approved an article to bring the fee increase before Spring Town Meeting in June.