DMV, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society Promote Adopting Shelter Pets and License Plate Benefiting Animal Population Control Fund

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) joined with the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society today to support adopting shelter pets and a specialty license plate that promotes spaying and neutering pets.

The pairing came a day before National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day.

“There are so many wonderful animals waiting for a home available at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society and similar shelters around New York State,” said DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder. “We encourage people to come to their local shelter and give a loving animal a forever home. At the same time, DMV is proud to offer the Our Best Friends license plate, which not only lets you share your love for your pets but helps control the population of stray animals.”

This year marks 30 years since the DMV began offering a license plate in tribute to our pets. Originally, it was known as the LOVE YOUR PET plate with legislation to create it passed in October 1996.

That plate was discontinued in November 2004. A month later, it was replaced by the Our Best Friends plate that is still available today.

Since 2007, these plates have raised more than $800,000 for the Animal Population Control Fund. A total of $25 of the registration fee goes to the fund.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, $34,600 was raised to assist controlling the number of stray cats and dogs.

You can learn about the Our Best Friends plate and order one on the DMV website. 

Dr. David Chico, Assistant Director for Animal Industry, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, said, “The Department has long collected funds to allow the administration of the NYS Animal Population Control Fund, which helps support the adoption of shelter pets into their forever homes.  The fund provides critical grants to rescue organizations, like the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, allowing them to provide low-cost spay neuter programs that remove a real barrier to pet ownership for some and pave the way for more successful adoptions of our dogs and cats. We thank all our partners for their work in administering these funds and providing the care these animals need, and the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles for dedicating the proceeds of this special license plate to such a worthy cause.” 

MHHS President and CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck said, "We are very grateful for the funding provided through the Best Friends license plate sales, which benefits the NYS Population Control initiative. This support has helped thousands of cats and dogs be spayed or neutered through our low-cost community clinic. In addition to those served at our clinic, every cat and dog adopted from the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccines, microchipped, and evaluated by both our veterinary and behavior teams. Thanks to this fund, the birth of countless unwanted litters of puppies and kittens has been prevented."

You can learn more about the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society on the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society website or follow them on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. 

For more information about DMV, visit the DMV website, or follow the DMV conversation online at Facebook, X ,Instagram and LinkedIn.

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