Many municipalities across the state are proclaiming March as dog license awareness month.

State officials said they have a goal of  getting 100,000 dogs licensed in Pennsylvania by the end of the month.

In Jefferson County there are more than 3,800 dogs that have not been licensed. 

At Tuesday afternoon's Jefferson County commissioners meeting George Greig, secretary for the Department of Agriculture discussed the importance of dog licensing. 

In recent years the Dog Law Restricted Account has not seen a surplus of money.

The money from this account is used to pay dozens of dog wardens across Pennsylvania.

Due to the lack of money going into the account, the dog law enforcement agency nearly went bankrupt.

"We've done some work on that department trying to streamline things. Now we have kind of stretched it out so it is now safe at this time for a couple of years," Greig said.

During the meeting Greig said that by increasing the amount of dog license sales, the agency would remain in good standing until 2017.

Pet owners are required to license any dog that is more than three months old.

The cost of a license for dogs hasn't gone up for more than a decade.

A dog license for a dog that has been spay and neutered remains at $6.45.

Those who do not license their dog face a minimum fine of $50.  Owners can receive a maximum fine of $350.