ALTA — If you're an Alta resident, getting a dog for a pet isn't as simple as checking the classifieds or finding a kid with a box of puppies in front of the grocery.
There are only two ways to become an official, legal owner of a dog in this mountain town of 370 permanent residents:
You have to win the town's annual dog-license lottery, to be held this year at noon on May 3.
Or:
You have to convince longtime Alta Mayor Bill Levitt that your particular circumstances warrant the issuance of a temporary dog license.
Either way, depending on demand, it can be a long shot.
The Alta Town Council decided earlier this month to issue three permanent licenses — but only to full-time Alta residents — when this year's drawing is held. Those three licenses will bring the total of permanent licenses issued by the town back up to 42, the same as permitted for the last two years.
But another dozen permanent residents, seven part-time residents and four people who work in Alta while living outside the town currently hold temporary licenses. The town has no restriction on the length or number of temporary licenses — that's up to the discretion of Levitt.
On May 3, then, the total number of dogs permitted to set foot in Alta's watershed area — which supplies drinking water to much of the Salt Lake Valley — will be 65, unless some of those licenses are vacated or revoked. And that doesn't include at least four exempt avalanche dogs that live in Alta.
The folks who manage the watershed for Salt Lake City would prefer it if that number were not so high. But for now, they are simply keeping a watch on the situation and educating Alta dog owners and visitors on the importance of not polluting the watershed.
"They're trying to walk the fine line of keeping it limited," acknowledged Tom Ward, water resource and watershed manager for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.
"We'd always like to see less (licenses), and we definitely don't want to see more . . . but we recognize that these areas are a recreational resource, too, and the town of Alta is its own political entity, and so they have to manage those interests as well."
By town ordinance, the number of dog licenses issued each year can be equal to no more than 12 percent of the town's census population. Legally, then, the town could allow up to 44 permanent licenses but has held the line at 42.
The council also decided those three licenses to be issued in May will be Class A licenses. Those licenses are given only to people who qualify as year-round residents.
That's good news to Ward, who is most concerned about Class C licenses — those given to employees, who have been known to tie their dogs to a tree or outside a back door for the day — and Class B licenses, given to part-time residents who may be in town for a few weeks or months each year.
"Those are the ones that concern us the most and create the most problem for the town of Alta. They don't have a kennel up there," Ward said.
"I get regular complaints, I have to admit," about dogs left tied on leashes outside Alta businesses, Ward said. Most often, those dogs turn out to be owned by an employee who doesn't live in Alta, he said.
Class C and Class B temporary licenses, however, still can be issued by Levitt.
"We wouldn't want to see it turn into another exclusive dog park, per se, for anyone with a friend of a friend in Alta," Ward said. "It seems to me they haven't been doling them out left and right."
While Levitt has sole authority and judgment for dispensing temporary licenses, he can also take those licenses away if owners do not keep their dogs on leashes and pick up after them as required.
"When you get a temporary license, you're under the gun and you'd better behave or else," Levitt said. "That's our main thing is to keep the area clean."
Levitt said he has awarded several temporary licenses to dogs serving as ring bearers at wedding ceremonies.
"The main thing is, we don't want to have a lot of people coming and saying, 'Hey, I want another temporary license,' " he said.
In the past, however, obtaining a temporary license has been one way to take the sting out of losing the annual lottery.
Town officials say several people have inquired about this year's lottery. Applications will be taken at the town office until April 30.
A town dog license costs $50 for a spayed or neutered animal, $75 for one with all working parts. In addition, there is a one-time watershed fee of $25.
E-mail: zman@desnews.com