San Diego County Municipal Code § 62.669 Restraint of Dogs

(a) A dog's owner or custodian or a person who has control of a dog shall prevent the dog from being at large, except as provided in subsections (b) and (d) below.

(b) A dog's owner or custodian who has direct and effective voice control over a dog to ensure that it does not violate any law, may allow a dog to be unrestrained by a leash while a dog is assisting an owner or custodian who is:

(1) Legally hunting.

(2) Legally herding livestock.

(3) On public property with the written permission of and for the purposes authorized by the agency responsible for regulating the use of the property.

(c) A dog's owner or custodian or a person having control of a dog that is lawfully on private property shall keep the dog: (1) leashed or tethered as allowed under Health and Safety Code section 122335, (2) under direct and effective control by voice or electronic pet containment system or (3) in a building or enclosure that is adequate to ensure the physical confinement of the dog and that also meets humane standards. An animal is not considered leashed if the leash is not in the hand of a person capable of controlling the animal or if the person is not actually controlling the animal attached to the leash.

(d) This section shall not apply to a dog assisting or training to assist a law enforcement officer in the course and scope of the officer's duties.

(Amended by Ord. No. 7906 (N.S.), effective 6-20-91; repealed and added by Ord. No. 8211 (N.S.), effective 4-1-93; amended by Ord. No. 8353 (N.S.), effective 3-3-94; repealed and added by Ord. No. 8422 (N.S.), effective 8-11-94; repealed and readopted by Ord. No. 9098 (N.S.), effective 12-16-99; repealed and readopted by Ord. No. 9274 (N.S.), effective 12-15-00; repealed and readopted by Ord. No. 9420 (N.S.), effective 2-2-02; amended by Ord. No. 10036 (N.S.), effective 2-26-10; amended by Ord. No. 10927 (N.S.), effective 1-10-25)

SEC. 62.669.1. PUBLIC PROTECTION FROM DOGS.¶

(a) A dog's owner or custodian or other person having control of a dog shall exercise ordinary care to prevent the dog, while the dog is under the owner, custodian or other person's care, custody or control from:

(1) Attacking, biting or otherwise causing injury to any person engaged in a lawful act.

(2) Interfering with a person or animal legally using public or private property.

(3) Damaging personal property that is lawfully on public property or that is on private property with the permission of the property owner or other person who has the right to possess or use the private property.

(b) The owner of any unaltered dog that bites a person engaged in a lawful act shall pay the Department an altering deposit in addition to any other applicable fees the Board of Supervisors (Board) establishes. The altering deposit shall be refunded or forfeited as provided in section 62.679(c).

(c) This section shall not apply to a dog assisting or training to assist a law enforcement officer while that officer is executing law enforcement duties or responsibilities.

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SEC. 62.669.5. GUARD DOGS, DANGEROUS DOGS OR POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ANIMALS.¶

(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner, custodian or person having control of a guard dog, dangerous dog, or potentially dangerous animal to fail to exercise ordinary care over the animal that results in the animal causing injury to a person engaged in lawful activity, if the owner, custodian or person having control of the animal knew or should have known the animal had vicious or dangerous propensities or that the animal was a guard dog, dangerous dog, or potentially dangerous animal, as those terms are defined in this chapter.

(b) This section shall not apply to an animal that is being used by the military or law enforcement while the animal is performing in that capacity.

State law reference(s)--Protection dog defined, Business and Professions Code, § 7521.

Exceptions & meaning →