![A male pit bull sat in his cage at the Animal Control Center in St. Paul in 2014. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ cgonzalez@startribune.com -](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ZXWNLKNJOOAX2RAWN3ASCYO4FI.jpg?&w=1080)
Starting this month, St. Paul pet owners can expect to pay substantially more to license their dogs as the city seeks new ways to pay for animal control.
The cost of a lifetime license for animals that have been microchipped and spayed or neutered will go from $35 to $140, and other fees will also go up. The St. Paul City Council approved the changes last month.
As a public safety service, animal control gets a substantial portion of its approximately $1 million budget from the general fund, said Dan Niziolek, deputy director of the city's Department of Safety and Inspections, which oversees St. Paul Animal Control.
He projects the increased fees will bring in $40,000 more for animal control.
The city will allow low-income pet owners to pay $70 for a lifetime license, which previously was not an option. The fee to register a dangerous dog will rise from $86 to $300.
Cleo Krejci (cleo.krejci@startribune.com) is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.
