Davidson County, NC Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

01 defines DANGEROUS DOG by conduct, not breed: any dog that has shown a fierce or dangerous propensity, including one that assaults, bites, attacks, or seriously injures a person without provocation on public or private property, kills or injures a pet or domestic animal without provocation, or is being trained to attack. The definition carves out exceptions where the victim was teasing, tormenting, abusing, or assaulting the dog, or committing a crime, and where the dog was defending its young or responding to another animal's attack.

11 makes it unlawful for an owner to keep a dangerous dog unconfined or unrestrained. Once notified in writing, the owner has ten days to build a humane, secure enclosure, must post a warning sign no larger than one foot by two feet (two square feet), and must keep the dog under constant restraint on the property in the meantime; Animal Control may confiscate the dog and board it at the owner's expense while the enclosure is built, and if the owner still has not complied after ten days, the county is authorized to dispose of the animal.

A confiscated dog that is not being destroyed can be redeemed within ten days if all boarding fees are paid and Animal Control confirms the enclosure is built. An owner whose dangerous dog escapes must notify the Animal Control Program within 24 hours. 99(B) and (C), if an unprovoked dangerous dog attacks, bites, or kills a person, the owner pays a $500 fine and, after a ten-day waiting period, the dog is destroyed by Animal Control; if it kills or wounds a domestic animal or pet, the owner pays a $250 civil penalty and, after the same ten-day wait, the dog is confiscated and destroyed.