Who holds the record
New York Agriculture & Markets Law Article 7 § 109 — dog licenses are issued and maintained by the clerk of the city, town or village where the dog is harbored.
If a pet license or ownership record was changed without your signature, it can be corrected. This packet does it the way that actually works: documents, dates and a sworn statement — never accusations about anybody’s character.
New York Agriculture & Markets Law Article 7 § 109 — dog licenses are issued and maintained by the clerk of the city, town or village where the dog is harbored.
New York Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law Article 6) — dog license applications and the license register are municipal records you may inspect and copy.
Personal Privacy / records-accuracy practice — a municipality that holds an inaccurate record about you should correct it on a sworn showing from the person the record concerns.
A license transfer normally requires the licensed owner’s signature or proof of ownership. If neither exists in the file, the change was made without a lawful basis and can be reversed.
Local office for this case: Niagara Falls City Clerk, City Hall, 745 Main Street, Niagara Falls, NY 14301.
Send the FOIL request below for every dog license record tied to both dogs: original applications, renewals, transfer or change forms, rabies certificates on file, and the clerk’s log of who changed what and when. You cannot correct a record you have not read.
Jake signs and sends. The AI drafts and tracks the 5-business-day response clock.
Oscar: shelter adoption contract, adoption receipt, and the shelter’s own record of the adopter. Dobby: first vet visit in your name, rabies certificate, microchip registration, food/vet receipts, and dated photos in your home. Every document with your name and a date is one more link.
A one-paragraph letter from the adopting shelter and from the treating veterinarian stating who adopted, who presented the dog, and whose name is on the client file. Clerks move on third-party confirmation far faster than on argument.
Submit the correction letter below plus a short notarized affidavit: who adopted or rescued each dog, when, who paid, who licensed them, and that you never signed or authorized a transfer. Attach the exhibits. Ask for the record to be restored to your name and for a certified copy of the corrected license.
Jake signs personally. Notarization required.
Pay the license fee, get the tags issued in your name, and keep a photo of the certified license on your phone. If anyone questions who the dogs belong to, that photo ends the conversation on the spot.
Two lanes, both paperwork: an administrative appeal of the FOIL / correction denial to the city’s appeals officer, and a replevin (return of property) petition in Niagara Falls City Court with the same exhibits. Nothing here needs a fight — it needs a file.
Niagara Falls City Clerk — Records Access Officer
City Hall, 745 Main Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
Re: FOIL request — dog license records (2 dogs)
Dear Records Access Officer,
Under the New York Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law, Article 6),
I request copies of all records the City holds concerning the licensing of two
dogs harbored at my address:
1. "Oscar" — adopted by me through a licensed shelter adoption.
2. "Dobby" — taken in by me and licensed by me.
Specifically, I request:
a. The original license application(s) for each dog, including signatures.
b. All renewals, replacements and duplicate tag records.
c. Any transfer-of-ownership or change-of-owner form filed for either dog,
including the document relied on to authorize the change.
d. Rabies certificate and any sterilization records held in the file.
e. Any internal log, note or audit entry showing the date of each change and
the employee who entered it.
I am the person named in the original records, so please treat this as both a
FOIL request and a request to inspect my own records. If any portion is denied,
please cite the specific exemption and identify the appeals officer.
I am happy to receive these electronically. My contact information is below.
Respectfully,
Jacob Rossi
DBATR — Dream Big Addiction & Trauma Recovery
[phone] · [email]
Niagara Falls City Clerk
City Hall, 745 Main Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14301
Re: Request to correct dog license ownership records — "Oscar" and "Dobby"
Dear Clerk,
I am writing to ask the City to correct the owner of record on the dog licenses
for two dogs, and to do so on documents rather than on anyone's word.
The facts, all supported by the enclosed exhibits:
1. I adopted "Oscar" through a licensed shelter adoption. The adoption
contract and receipt are in my name (Exhibits A-B).
2. I took "Dobby" in off the street into my own home. The first veterinary
visit, rabies certificate and microchip registration are in my name
(Exhibits C-E).
3. I completed the license paperwork for both dogs at City Hall myself.
4. The current record shows a different person as owner. I did not sign a
transfer of ownership, and I did not authorize anyone to sign one on my
behalf. I am not asking the City to assign blame for that — only to
correct it.
I respectfully request that the City:
a. Restore me as the owner of record on both licenses;
b. Void any transfer or change-of-owner entry made without my signature;
c. Issue tags and a certified copy of each corrected license to me; and
d. Provide a copy of the document relied on for the earlier change.
My sworn affidavit is enclosed, along with letters from the adopting shelter and
the treating veterinarian. I will bring originals for inspection and pay any
licensing or certification fees due.
Thank you for your time and for the care your office takes with these records.
Respectfully,
Jacob Rossi
[date] · [phone] · [email]
Sign in front of a notary. The AI prepares and verifies; the signature is always yours.
If an animal is being threatened or used to control someone, that belongs in a safety plan and, where a person is in danger, with the police or a court — not in a records request. New York allows companion animals to be included in an order of protection. Ask for it.
Pets used as leverage, records changed behind your back, a home you own with someone in it who shouldn’t be — all of it is free help here, with no income check and no waiting list.