Kent County, MI does not impose any breed-specific legislation (BSL). The Kent County Animal Control Ordinance (Ord. No. 06-23-22-82, effective July 1, 2022) contains no breed-based bans, restrictions, or special insurance/muzzling requirements for any breed of dog. Instead, Section 11(c) applies a behavior-based standard: it is unlawful for an owner or custodian to intentionally or by failure to exercise due care allow a dog or other animal to menace, attack, or bite a person or other animal in a place where the person or animal is legally entitled to be. Michigan has no statewide preemption of local BSL, but Kent County and its largest city, Grand Rapids, have both declined to enact breed restrictions. Individual cities, villages, or townships within Kent County may have their own ordinances (Section 4 / MCL 287.289a) — check locally before assuming the county rule applies.
A full text review of the Kent County Animal Control Ordinance (Ordinance No. 06-23-22-82, adopted June 23, 2022, effective July 1, 2022) confirms there are no breed-specific provisions anywhere in the 14-page ordinance. No section bans, restricts, or imposes special licensing/insurance/muzzling on any specific breed.
Instead, the ordinance regulates dangerous behavior generally. Section 11(c) provides: "An Owner or Custodian shall not intentionally, or by failure to exercise due care, allow his/her dog or Animal to menace, attack or bite a person or other Animal in a place where the person or other Animal is legally entitled to be. 'Menace' shall include, but not be limited to, charging, scratching, toppling, teeth-baring, snapping, growling, or other predatory mannerisms, directed at a person or other Animal. 'Menace' shall not include behavior of a dog or Animal separated from the person or other Animal by a cage, fence or other barrier."
Section 14 (Bites) further requires owners to report any known bite within 24 hours and to surrender the animal for state-mandated quarantine. Section 8(a)(7) authorizes capture of any animal that has bitten a person. Beyond the county ordinance, Michigan's Dog Law of 1919 (MCL 287.261 et seq.) provides additional state-level dangerous-dog procedures including potential destruction orders for dogs that bite without provocation.
Michigan does not have a state statute that preempts local breed-specific legislation (BSL); cities and counties in Michigan retain the power to enact BSL if they choose. Kent County has chosen not to do so, and the City of Grand Rapids (the county's largest municipality, governed by its own Chapter 155 of the City Code under Section 4 of the county ordinance) likewise has no breed-based restrictions. Residents should verify with their specific city, village, or township, however, because Section 4 of the county ordinance (citing MCL 287.289a) provides that the county rule does not apply within local jurisdictions that have adopted their own animal-control ordinance — so a local ordinance, not the Kent County rule, governs in those places.
There is no county-level breed-restriction violation in Kent County. If a dog (of any breed) menaces, attacks, or bites a person or another animal under Section 11(c), the owner or custodian is responsible for a municipal civil infraction under Section 15(a): $100 first offense, $200 for a subsequent offense within five years, plus costs of prosecution. The animal may be captured under Section 8(a)(7) and quarantined under Section 14(c). Separately, Michigan's Dog Law of 1919 (MCL 287.286a et seq.) provides state-level procedures for declaring a dog "dangerous" and, where warranted, ordering its destruction following a court hearing — independent of breed.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Kent County.
See how Kentwood's breed restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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