California Food & Agricultural Code §31683 preempts breed-specific bans, but Sonoma County requires mandatory spay/neuter of all pit bulls over four months old under Chapter 5, Article XIV (§5-171), which applies in unincorporated areas and is enforced alongside the City's dangerous-dog rules in SMC Chapter 8.12.
California Food & Agricultural Code §31683 prohibits any local 'program regulating any dog' from being 'specific as to breed,' except as provided in Cal. Health & Safety Code §122331, which allows breed-specific spay/neuter and breeding-permit programs only. As a result, no city or county in California, including Sonoma, may ban pit bulls or any other breed. The City of Sonoma has not enacted breed-specific restrictions; in September 2011 the City Council declined to amend its vicious-dog ordinance to add breed-specific provisions, choosing instead to fund low-cost spay/neuter outreach. Sonoma Municipal Code Chapter 8.12 (Potentially Dangerous and Vicious Dogs) governs individual-dog determinations regardless of breed, defining a 'potentially dangerous dog' as one that on two occasions in 12 months engages in behavior requiring defensive action to prevent bodily injury, and a 'vicious dog' as one that on a single occasion causes severe injury or death without provocation. For residents in unincorporated Sonoma County, Chapter 5, Article XIV §5-171 of the County Code requires that no person own, harbor, or keep a pit bull over four months old that has not been spayed or neutered, with exemptions under §5-170 for service dogs, police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, medically exempt dogs, registered show dogs, and licensed breeders.
There is no breed ban to violate. Failure to comply with the county pit-bull spay/neuter requirement (§5-171, applies in unincorporated areas) is an infraction with fees set under §5-4 and enforced by Sonoma County Animal Services; owners typically receive a notice to comply with deadlines and may face escalating administrative penalties for non-compliance. Within the City of Sonoma, dogs declared 'potentially dangerous' or 'vicious' under SMC Chapter 8.12 face confinement, muzzling, insurance, and registration requirements regardless of breed; non-compliance can result in misdemeanor charges, fines up to $500 per offense, and impoundment.
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