Alpine County, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

We found no breed-specific restriction in Alpine County Code Chapter 6.04 - no breed is banned, and pit bulls and similar breeds are not singled out. Instead, the County regulates dogs by behavior. Section 6.04.020 defines a 'vicious animal' as 'any animal, dog or cat which shows a propensity to attack, bite, scratch or harass people or other animals without provocation.' Under Section 6.04.140, an animal control officer may seize and impound any dog reasonably believed to be vicious or diseased, the Sheriff holds a hearing within five days to determine whether the dog is a menace to public health, safety or welfare, and a dog found to be a menace may be destroyed - all triggered by conduct, not breed. This matches California Food and Agricultural Code Section 31683, which provides that, while cities and counties may adopt dangerous-dog programs, 'no program regulating any dog shall be specific as to breed' (the only exception being breed-specific spay/neuter or breeding programs authorized by Health and Safety Code Section 122331). Alpine County has not adopted such a spay/neuter breed program. Bottom line: ownership of any breed is lawful in unincorporated Alpine County, subject to the County's behavior-based vicious-animal rules and state law.