Catoosa County, GA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Catoosa County Code § 14-1 defines 'under control' for chapter 14 as an animal securely confined in a fenced enclosure on the owner's property, or, away from that enclosure, restrained by a leash, chain, rope or similar device that keeps it on the owner's property, held on a leash by a person of suitable age and discretion, or governed by the demonstrated voice command of such a person standing in the animal's immediate presence. Section 14-9 then places the duty squarely on the owner or keeper: the dog must be kept from becoming a nuisance or from endangering or injuring other people or property, and must be under control at all times, identified by its rabies tag and county registration tag.

A dog that is not under control, that trespasses on someone else's property without permission, or that is found running loose anywhere in the county is subject to impoundment under § 14-11. The county must give notice of the impoundment by posting it at the owner's residence, first class mail, or a phone call using the number on the registration tag; the notice describes the animal's kind, breed, color and sex. An animal is held at the county shelter for at least five days from when the notice was mailed, phoned or posted before animal control may place it for adoption or euthanize it, and an owner can redeem the dog during that window by paying the impoundment fee and board charges on file with the county clerk.

Enforcement runs through the director of animal control, animal control officers, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs, who may also come onto private property in the unincorporated and incorporated county to enforce the chapter.