Montebello, CA Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Section 6.28.050(B) defines a wild or vicious animal by conduct, not breed: any dog with a disposition or propensity to attack or bite a person or animal without provocation qualifies. Once the director makes that finding, the owner or harborer gets written notice ordering the dog kept inside a substantial enclosure or securely chained under adequate control. If confinement is impossible or impracticable, the dog is impounded immediately. If the owner ignores the director's written order and fails to provide adequate restraint within a reasonable time, the code allows summary destruction of the animal, no court hearing required by this section.

Subsection B.2 makes the director's own bite records decisive: two or more separate documented bites by the same dog on a person or animal is prima facie evidence the dog is vicious, shifting the burden to the owner to disprove it. Animal control in Montebello is handled under contract by the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA), which enforces this chapter alongside impoundment procedures in Chapter 6.32: owners may reclaim an impounded dog before sale by paying impound costs and fees (Section 6.32.040, 6.32.060), but licensed dogs held after a vicious-dog impoundment must sit at least ten calendar days after written notice, unlicensed dogs at least five working days (Section 6.32.080), and the animal shelter will not release any dog without proof of current rabies vaccination (Section 6.32.070).

Because the standard is behavioral rather than a breed list, an owner cannot avoid the chapter by breed alone; any dog that establishes a documented bite history in Montebello is subject to the same restraint-or-destroy sequence.