Pet owners have a special entry for their diaries - 10 April

That's the annual cut-off date to register all dogs and cats aged three months or older with the City of Greater Geelong. Annual registration fees vary depending on whether or not your animal has been desexed, its age and other factors.

Registering a new animal differs slightly from a renewal. To register for the first time, you will need to visit a City of Greater Geelong Customer Service Centre. There, you will need to fill out an Application To Register Domestic Animals form and pay the necessary fee(s).

If your current registration is being renewed, the City will send you out a renewal form that you simply need to pay.

The City of Greater Geelong has one of the largest populations of registrable dogs and cats in any Australian municipality but only 70 per cent are registered.

So, what do you get for your fees?

Animals wear a registration tag that helps the City to identify them if they get lost or injured as well as investigate and resolve pet problems as quickly as possible. Registration provides valuable information about local animal populations and enables us to plan for and fund proactive programs and activities.

Random checks are conducted throughout Geelong and having unregistered pets, that are older than three months, can result in a fine. You can also be penalised if you've registered your pet as desexed and it's found not to be. So make sure you do the right thing.

RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP STARTS WITH YOU!