Gatineau's SPCA and city hall are teaming up to go door-to-door in search of unlicensed pets, as part of a three-year effort to bring the city's animal registry up to date. Photo: Courtesy
Gatineau SPCA to knock on doors in city-wide pet licence drive
Tashi Farmilo
The Outaouais SPCA and the City of Gatineau have launched a door-to-door pet census, sending teams of agents through residential neighbourhoods this spring and autumn to track down the thousands of cats, dogs, and miniature pigs believed to be living in the city without a municipal licence.
The gap they are trying to close is almost certainly a wide one. When the SPCA conducted a similar canvas in 2019, roughly 36,500 dogs and cats were on the city's books. Provincial survey data from around the same period suggested a cat lived in about one-third of Quebec households and a dog in nearly one-quarter, numbers that point to a significant pool of unregistered animals in a city the size of Gatineau.
Under municipal by-law, a licence is mandatory for dogs, cats, and miniature pigs alike, and the consequences of ignoring that requirement are not trivial. A first offence can bring a fine of anywhere between $300 and $2,000. The SPCA agents canvassing neighbourhoods are authorized to help residents get into compliance on the spot, whether that means a first-time purchase or an overdue renewal.
The licence fees that flow from the campaign serve a dual purpose. They fund the animal welfare services the SPCA provides to the broader community, and they give lost pets a fighting chance of making it home. A tagged animal picked up as a stray can be traced back to its owner far more quickly than one with no record on file.
This autumn's canvas is only the first phase of what organizers plan as a three-year sweep of the entire city. The current effort focuses on the Gatineau sector, with Aylmer, Hull, Buckingham, and Masson-Angers to follow in successive years.
Licences run on a calendar-year cycle and must be renewed annually. Since 2019, the SPCA has issued permanent medallions, so a registered animal keeps the same tag for life. The organization has been running animal services in the Outaouais since 1982, taking in more than 125,000 animals, fielding over 15,000 cruelty complaints, and responding to upwards of 30,000 calls about strays in that time.
Those wishing to get ahead of a knock at the door can purchase or renew a licence online at spcaoutaouais.ca, by phone, by mail, or in person at the SPCA shelter on rue de Varennes or at any of the city's five service centres.