West Warwick Police Department
1162 Main
Street
West Warwick, Rhode Island 02893
(401) 821-4323
Contact Information & Online Forms
Animal Control Shelter
615-3388
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Dog Licenses
Dog Licenses can be obtained at the West Warwick Town Hall at the Town Clerk's Office. A current rabies vaccination certificate that shows the expiration date is required in order for the clerk to issue a license. Lecenses are $7.00 per dog if the dog is neutered or spayed or $15.00 per dog if unneutered/unspayed.
Rabies tags are not acceptable proof of rabies vaccination.
You may obtain a dog license by mail. Be sure to include a note card with your name, address, phone number, dog's name, breed, coat color and gender along with a copy of your rabies certificate, a check for $7.00 made out to the Town of West Warwick and a self-addressed stamped envelop to:
West Warwick Town Hall
1170 Main Street
West Warwick, Rhode Island 02893
Please note, all of these things must be included in order for your
license to be properly issued.
Town of West Warwick Ordinance
Section 4-29. Dog License &
Registration Required
All dogs kept, harbored or maintained by their owners in the town shall be licensed and registered if over six months of age. Dog licenses shall be issued by the town clerk upon payment of a license fee of $7.00 for each neutered male or spayed female and $15.00 for each un-neutered male or un-spayed female. The owner shall state, at the time the application is made for such license and upon printed forms provided for such purposes, his name and address and the name, breed, color and sex of each and every dog owned or kept by him. The provisions of this section shall not be intended to apply to dogs whose owners are nonresidents temporarily within the town, nor to dogs brought into the town for the purpose of participating in any dog show. No fee will be charged for "guide" or "seeing-eye" dogs properly trained to assist blind persons, when such dogs are actually being used by blind persons for the purpose of aiding them in going from place to place. K-9 and/or other dogs owned by any police department or any law enforcement officer and used in the performance of police work shall be exempt from this provision.
Section 4-30. R.I.G.L.
4-13-15 , Tag and Collar.
Upon payment of the license fee, the clerk shall issue to the owner a license certificate and a metallic tag for each dog so licensed. The shape of the tag shall be changed every year and shall have stamped thereon the year for which it was issued and the number corresponding with the number on the certificate. Every owner shall be required to provide each dog with a collar to which the license tag must be affixed and shall see that the collar and tag are constantly worn. In case a dog tag is lost or destroyed, a duplicate will be issued by the clerk upon presentation of a receipt showing the payment of the license fee for the current year and the payment of a $2.00 fee for such duplicate or for a replacement tag. Dog tags shall not be transferable from one dog to another; and no refunds shall be made on any dog license fee because of the death of the dog or the owner's leaving the town before the expiration of the license period.
Penalty: First offense $100.00; Second offense $200.00; Third offense & each subsequent offense $200.00 or be imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 30 and/or be subject to confiscation of the animal which is the basis of the violation.
Section 4-31.1. R.I.G.L. 4-13-31 Rabies Vaccination Required
The owner or keeper of a dog or cat shall have the animal vaccinated not earlier than three months of age nor later than four months of age and at regular intervals thereafter as prescribed by the regulations of the rabies control board, but at no time to exceed recommendations made by the most current compendium of animals rabies control. No dog or cat shall be licensed unless such dog or cat shall have been vaccinated or immunized in the manner set forth in this section.
Section 4-31.2. Use of an Approved Rabies Vaccine; Certification
The vaccination or immunization referred to in this article shall be by a vaccine approved by the state department of health or the rabies control board and shall be certified to by a licensed veterinarian. Said certificate shall meet the minimum standards approved by the rabies control board, which shall include: the veterinarian's name, the veterinarian's practice name, address, and telephone number; the pet owner's name and address; the pet's name, species, age, coloration, and sex; the rabies vaccine manufacturer's name; the date of inoculation and the signature of the doctor who administered or directed the administration of the rabies vaccine. For dogs, there shall be a record kept which lists the number of the rabies tag issued in conjunction with the rabies vaccination certificate, together with such other information as may reasonably be required by the animal control officer or the veterinarian administering the same.
Sec. 4-31.0. Owning, etc., an Unvaccinated Dog or Cat
No license shall be issued for any dog required to be licensed in the town unless the person making application there for shall first present to the town clerk a current certificate of vaccination or inoculation, as provided in this article for the dog for which such license is requested. Such certificate shall certify that the dog for which the license is to be issued has been properly vaccinated or inoculated in accordance with the provisions of this article. Any owner of a cat must also be in accordance with the provisions of this article; cats must also be vaccinated for rabies.
Penalty: Any owner found violating any provision of sections 4-28 through 4-31 shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 or more than $200.00 for each offense after the first or be imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 30 and/or be subject to confiscation of the animal which is the basis of the violation.
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