Bethlehem, PA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

06(A) of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem states that when not confined to the owner's premises, all dogs must be under the physical control of their owner or custodian and physically restrained by a leash or other restraining device at all times. 15(A) reinforces the rule as an enforcement remedy: no person owning or having custody of a dog may permit it to go at large to the injury or annoyance of others, or upon the streets or other public ways of the city, and doing so is declared a public nuisance dangerous to public health and safety.

15(B), the Animal Control Officer and any city police officer must seize and detain a dog, licensed or not, found running at large and unaccompanied by its owner. 00 impounding and return charge; a dog unclaimed after ten days may be sold at public or private sale, except for vivisection, or destroyed if diseased. 06(B) separately requires anyone whose leashed dog defecates on a sidewalk, park, or public property to remove the waste immediately and dispose of it sanitarily.