Starting on April 6, canvassers with Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC), in coordination with the city of Mercer Island, will go door-to-door in neighborhoods at the south end of the Island to educate residents about pet licenses. The city contracts with King County to provide animal services, and pet licensing pays for the program.

Canvassing has proven an effective method for educating residents about the benefits and requirements of pet licensing, and was last conducted in the summer of 2018 in neighborhoods south of Southeast 40th Street. The canvassers will not issue citations, but will provide free temporary licenses for unlicensed pets, allowing pet owners up to 30 days to pay for a license. Pet owners can mail their license payments to King County, license online or pay in person at City Hall, or Island QFC stores.

Benefits of pet licensing include: reuniting owners with lost pets, providing licensed pets a free ride home the first time they get lost, saving lives by funding King County’s pet adoption centers, investigating animal cruelty or neglect and responding to reports of dangerous or nuisance animals.

As a regulatory service, canvassers are not required to have city soliciting licenses, but will observe the soliciting ordinance hours, and also not contact residences that have “no soliciting” signs posted.

Visits will be on Saturdays, 10 a.m to 7 p.m, Sundays, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and occasional weekdays from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

When residents are not home, staff will leave a “72-hour notice” door hanger for those they believe have pets, or a “sorry we missed you” door hanger for citizens they do not believe have pets. Currently, the city of Mercer Island requires all dogs in the city to be licensed.

Major concerns or issues should be directed to Mercer Island Police Commander Dave Jokinen at 206-275-7914.