Dog Owners’ Lawsuits Regarding Such Ordinances Usually Fail
Court challenges to ordinances limiting the number of dogs one can keep almost always fail. This is due to longstanding legal precedent recognizing the power of state and local governments to regulate residents health, safety, and general welfare.
There are a few exceptions, however. The Georgia Supreme Court found a county ordinance unconstitutional because it didnt include the criteria that a dog owner had to satisfy in order to get a permit for keeping more than four dogs. (Foster v. State, No. S00A2054 (Sup. Ct. Ga., March 19, 2001).)
Violating the law by keeping too many dogs without a permit will probably earn you a fine.
Even a jail sentence is possible. A judge in Holland, Michigan—which has a two-dog-per-household maximum—sentenced a man to 90 days in jail for refusing to give up any of his three dogs. The dog owner spent a few days in jail before agreeing to part with one of his animals. (An effort to change the law in Holland, to allow three dogs per household, failed in late 2011.)
There are variations on the straightforward limit. You might, for example, have to get a special kennel license if you keep more than three or four dogs. That means extra fees, rules and, often, inspections by city officials.
Wondering how these rules are enforced? Animal control officials certainly dont go door to door taking a dog census. They rely, for the most part, on complaints or chance observation. So as a practical matter, someone who has more dogs than is allowed under the law is likely to get into trouble only if the dogs cause problems and a neighbor complains.
The moral: First, find out your citys rules. Going to its website and searching for “dogs” will usually turn up the information you need, or if not, you could call an actual person.
Then, no matter how many dogs you have, dont let them become a neighborhood nuisance. If there are problems, work them out before the neighbors decide to go to the authorities.
Even if a city doesnt have a set limit on the number of animals, neighbors bothered by too many animals might sue in small claims court. If a court decides that the animals are a nuisance—that is, that they interfere with neighbors enjoyment of their property—the owner can be ordered to compensate the neighbors or even to get rid of some animals.
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Many cities limit dogs to two or three per household.By
In rural areas, how many dogs you keep on your property is pretty much your own business, as long as the dogs arent a nuisance to the neighbors. But many cities restrict the number of dogs per household, often to just two or three.
The typical rules apply to adult dogs and dont count puppies that are less than a certain age, usually eight weeks to four months or so.
Examples include the city of Roeland Park, Kansas, which limits ownership to no more than two dogs of six months of age or older, or more than one litter of pups, without a permit; and the city of Oakland, California, which prohibits keeping more than three adult dogs (more than four months old) on any one premises.
The goal of cities that limit the number of dogs in one household is to cut down on the problems that dogs can cause in urban areas. Unless owners are vigilant, dogs can create nuisances with their droppings and barking, or cause property damage, or in the worst case, exhibit aggressive behavior.
As one court upholding such an ordinance put it, “too many dogs in too small a space may produce noise, odor and other conditions adverse to the best interests of the community as a whole.” (Zagaris v. City of Whitehall, 594 N.E.2d 129 (Ohio App. 1991).)
How Many Dogs Can You Own in New York State?
New York is overall a pretty friendly state for dog owners. There are minimal laws that restrict dog owners. The current legislation is relatively relaxed regarding dogs and the rules that go along with having pets in the state.
In New York State, there are no state-wide laws that regulate the number of dogs someone can own or that you can keep on a property within the state.
However, this doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to have as many dogs as you would like if you live in New York State. There are many other laws below the state level that can restrict how many dogs you can have. What rules apply and whether they will affect you depends on where you live in the state.
While the state doesn’t have any laws regarding the maximum number of dogs someone can own, cities often have restrictions. There are also a few other laws and regulations to look out for, but I’ll get into those later in this post. In the following sections, I’ll go into more detail regarding the specific laws in some of the major cities in New York State.
To check out the full list of laws regarding animals in New York State, check out Article 26 on the official New York State Senate’s website.
