New Britain, CT Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Section 6-27(a) defines a dangerous or vicious dog as one that has attacked, bitten or injured a person without provocation, or that shows an unacceptably high risk of serious injury through behavior such as snarling, showing teeth or lunging, even before it causes actual harm. A dog that bites or threatens a person behaving peacefully and lawfully is presumed vicious. The declaration does not apply where the injured person was trespassing, committing a crime, or teasing, tormenting or assaulting the dog, or where the dog was defending a person from an unjustified attack.

Under section 6-27(b), the animal control officer may declare a dog vicious based on witness statements, police or municipal employee reports, repeated police reports of dangerous behavior, or direct observation. Once declared, the officer may impose one or more of six restrictions: registration with the animal control division as a vicious or dangerous dog; mandatory microchipping with the chip activated and registered to the owner; posting of highly visible beware of dog signs at the residence; muzzling whenever the dog is outside the residence; a ban on leaving the dog outside unattended, whether tethered or fenced; and confinement so the dog has no access to children.

These restrictions run alongside the city's separate leash and roaming rules in sections 6-17 through 6-19, which already carry their own fines for dogs at large.