Bowie, MD Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 4-6A makes it unlawful for any owner or custodian to allow or fail to prevent an animal from being at large in the City, and declares any animal at large a nuisance dangerous to public health, safety and welfare. Subsection B holds the owner strictly liable both for the running-at-large violation itself and for any damages the loose animal causes. Under Subsection D, an animal control officer, police officer or other authorized agent can pursue a loose animal onto private premises to impound it, and if the owner takes the animal into an enclosed interior space, the officer can direct the owner to surrender it; failing to surrender on demand is itself a municipal infraction under § 4-22C.

Subsection E exempts an animal under its owner's control on a leash, cord or chain, and exempts any dog off-leash inside a City-designated dog park on City property. Subsection F excuses an animal that gets loose by accident while its owner is in immediate pursuit of it. Anyone aware of a loose animal can report it to the City under Subsection C, and a complainant's identity stays confidential unless the report becomes the basis of a citation, at which point the affidavit becomes a public record.