Buena Park, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

A dog becomes "potentially dangerous" under § 6.04.190 if, unprovoked, it twice within 36 months forces a defensive action to prevent injury, bites causing a minor injury, or twice injures another animal off its owner's property. A "vicious dog" under § 6.04.220 is one seized in a dogfighting case under Penal Code § 599aa, one that unprovoked inflicts a severe injury or kills a person, or a previously declared potentially dangerous dog that repeats the behavior. Before either label attaches, an animal control officer or police officer must have probable cause and petition the SEAACA executive director for a hearing under Food and Agricultural Code §§ 31621-31626; the executive director may defer the matter to superior court (§ 6.20.130).

Once a dog is declared potentially dangerous or previously declared vicious, § 6.20.140 makes it unlawful to own, possess or control that dog without a permit obtained from the animal control officer under Chapter 6.30, at a fee set by council resolution. The animal control officer must inspect the premises within twenty working days (§ 6.30.020) and may condition the permit on secure confinement, muzzling and leashing by an adult handler able to restrain the dog, a bond or insurance of at least $50,000, and spay or neuter surgery (§ 6.30.030). Permits run one year and may renew at half the normal fee if a recent inspection shows no changes (§ 6.30.060). Owners must post a fifteen-inch warning sign at every entrance and on any transport cage (§ 6.20.150), and letting the dog run loose or unrestrained off the property is a separate violation (§ 6.20.160). A denied or revoked permit can be appealed first to the SEAACA executive director within ten days, then to the Buena Park city council (§ 6.30.080).