Dog tags go on sale today at the Lawrence County Auditor’s Office and county dog shelter and pet owners have until Jan. 31 to license their animals.

This year those who bought tags in 2011 can go online to make their purchase.

“We will be mailing out to everyone who has a dog tax a user ID and password,” County Auditor Jason Stephens said.

“They will have the option to log on to the system and renew online. We already have their tags in the system. It will save time and they will not have to come down to the office.”

All the money from the $12 tags goes to the dog shelter.

“If everybody who owns a dog would buy a dog tag the dog pound would be self-sufficient,” Stephens said. “The general fund subsidizes the dog pound but not as much as it used to. Mr. Click and the assistant dog wardens have been very good to try to make sure dogs are registered. It goes to caring for the problem in Lawrence County. We get a lot of dogs from West Virginia and Kentucky. It is really a shame. It is an issue we have to deal with.”

Dog tags are also on sale at Petland in South Point, Moore’s Hardware in Proctorville, Chesapeake Animal Clinic, Dickess Market and Tipton’s Mini-Mart.