NORWICH – The City of Norwich has been without a Dog Warden for many years. This absence of anyone at the position full-time has finally caught up to the city as well as the Norwich City Police.

Monday August 10, 2015, the Norwich Police Department made clear that there were to be a large amount of citations issued to Norwich residents who have not had their dog licenses renewed.

“Police are working as much as they can, we haven’t had a dog warden in forever. So the loose dogs that are around town usually get picked up by the police, but if they can't then we have someone here take care of it,” said Jason Lawrence the Norwich Code Enforcement Officer.

Under New York State law all dogs six months or older need to be registered and be up to date on all their shots, including the rabies shot. Everyone is supposed to be issued a notice to renew these registrations. However, due to the absence of an actual dog warden, many of the notices and registrations have slipped by over the years.