11-1008. License fees for dogs; issuance of dog tags; exception; violation; classification

A. The board of supervisors of each county may set a license fee that shall be paid for each dog three months of age or older that is kept, harbored or maintained within the boundaries of this state for at least thirty consecutive days of each calendar year. License fees shall become payable at the discretion of the board of supervisors of each county. The licensing period shall not exceed the period of time for revaccination as designated by the state veterinarian. License fees shall be paid within ninety days to the board of supervisors. A penalty fee of two dollars shall be paid if the license application is made less than one year after the date on which the dog is required to be licensed under this article. If the license application is made one year or later from the date on which the dog is required to be licensed, an additional penalty fee of ten dollars shall be paid for each subsequent year up to a maximum of twenty-two dollars. This penalty shall not be assessed against applicants who provide adequate proof that the dog to be licensed has been in their possession in this state less than thirty consecutive days.

B. If the board of supervisors adopts a license fee, the board shall provide durable dog tags. Each dog licensed under the terms of this article shall receive, at the time of licensing, such a tag on which shall be inscribed the name of the county, the number of the license and the year in which it expires. The tag shall be attached to a collar or harness that shall be worn by the dog at all times, except as otherwise provided in this article. Whenever a dog tag is lost, a replacement tag shall be issued on application by the owner and payment of a fee established by the board of supervisors.

C. The board of supervisors may set license fees that are lower for dogs permanently incapable of procreation. An applicant for a license for a dog claimed to be incapable of procreation shall provide adequate proof satisfactory to the county enforcement agent that the dog has been surgically altered to be permanently incapable of procreation.

D. All fees and penalties shall be deposited in the rabies control fund pursuant to section 11-1011.

E. Any person who knowingly fails within fifteen days after written notification from the county enforcement agent to obtain a license for a dog required to be licensed, counterfeits an official dog tag, removes such tag from any dog for the purpose of intentional and malicious mischief or places a dog tag on a dog unless the tag was issued for that particular dog is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

F. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the board of supervisors of each county may not charge an individual who has a disability and who uses a service animal as defined in section 11-1024, a person that trains a service animal as defined in section 11-1024 or an individual who uses a search and rescue dog a license fee for that dog. An applicant for a license for a:

1. Search and rescue dog shall provide adequate proof satisfactory to the county enforcement agent that the dog is a search and rescue dog.

2. Service animal shall sign a written statement that the dog is a service animal as defined in section 11-1024. A person who makes a false statement pursuant to this paragraph is guilty of a petty offense and is subject to a fine that does not exceed fifty dollars. The statement to be signed shall be substantially in the following form:

By signing this document, I declare that the dog to be licensed is a service animal as defined in section 11-1024, Arizona Revised Statutes, and I understand that a person who makes a false statement pursuant to section 11-1008, Arizona Revised Statutes, is guilty of a petty offense and is subject to a fine that does not exceed fifty dollars.