Lake Havasu City, AZ Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Title 6's animal definitions in § 6.04.010(E) define AT LARGE as 'an animal being neither confined by an enclosure nor physically restrained by a leash,' the standard that every other at-large provision in the title relies on. The operative ban sits in § 6.12.010(A): no person owning, keeping, possessing, harboring, or maintaining an animal shall allow the animal to be at large. That duty applies to any species susceptible to rabies covered by the ANIMAL definition, not dogs alone, so cats and other animals left unconfined and unleashed are covered the same way.

Enforcement escalates by count: § 6.12.010(B) makes the first violation within a rolling 12-month period a civil offense punishable by a fine fixed by the court not to exceed $1,000 per violation, while any subsequent violation within that same 12-month window is charged as a class 2 misdemeanor rather than a civil fine. Animal control officers are authorized under § 6.12.040(A)(4) to capture and take into custody any animal running at large, and an impounded at-large animal is held under § 6.12.020(B) for at least 5 days if tagged or 3 days if not, after which it becomes shelter property if unclaimed.

The at-large standard also underlies related chapters: § 6.16.040's aggressive-animal rule turns partly on whether the animal was off-leash or unattended, and § 6.12.030 governs notice to the owner once an at-large animal with identification is impounded.