Dog Days of August Come Early for Town Clerks Office
For the Westport Town ClerkҒs office, the dog days of August come in June so far about 1,300 times.
That֒s how many dog licenses the office has issued so far this month, according to Town Clerk Patricia H. Strauss.
The old licenses expire June 30 and anyone renewing after Monday, must pay a $1 per month penalty for each month the renewal is late. The price is $16 for each male or female and $8 for a neutered male of spayed female.
We usually issue about 2,300 licenses a year,Ӕ said Strauss. So we have a ways to go.Ӕ
All dogs six months or older must be licensed and wear a collar and tag at all times. The tags are especially useful when the dogs stray from their homes, as Strauss knows first hand.
Two years ago, the town official got a call in her office from a nearby resident who said she had found a dog with an unusual tag number No. 1.
֓I said, Oh my goodness, thatђs my dog, thats my Lucy,Ғ Strauss remembers telling the caller.
It seems her Portuguese water dog, adopted from the Bridgeport pound, is afraid of thunder and lightening, and jumped the fence one day. She was quickly returned home.
Strauss said issuing the low-number dog licenses for her pets (her other dog Red gets No. 2) is the only town perk she reserves for herself.
But she shares her insider influence with the neighborhood Ԗ Lucys good friend Mookie gets No. 3, another friend Jack, gets No. 4, and Zulu down the street gets No. 5. Other neighboring dogs round out the top 10 license holders.
They donҒt call Lucy Strauss top dog in her neighborhood for nothing.
