Apple Valley, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

070 of the Apple Valley Municipal Code sets the town's leash and at-large rule. Subsection (a) prohibits any owner or person in control of an animal from letting it stray or run at large on a public street, sidewalk, school ground, park, playground, place of public assembly, or any un-enclosed private lot or place, without the property owner's consent; the parkway strip between the street and sidewalk counts as private property for this purpose. Subsection (b) lets anyone who finds a stray animal on their own or another's property take possession of it, but the finder must notify the Animal Control Office within 24 hours, describe the animal and any license number, and surrender it to the Animal Control Officer or Department on demand.

Subsection (c) is the leash rule itself: a dog leaving its owner's premises must be restrained on a substantial leash no longer than six feet and controlled by a competent handler, or be enclosed in a car, cage or similar container, or be a law-enforcement dog or a herding dog working livestock under immediate command. Subsection (d) allows the Animal Control Officer to impound any dog found running at large, loose or unrestrained, holding it under the period set by state Food and Agriculture Code § 31108 before disposing of unclaimed dogs under this Chapter.

Subsection (e) adds a reclaiming fee, set by the Town's fee schedule, for every impounded dog. The ordinance dates to Ordinance No. 01, Animal Control, within Title 15, Animals.