Littleton, CO Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6-2-3 of City Code Chapter 6-2 makes it unlawful for any owner to have a dog running at large within Littleton, and expressly rejects the defense that the owner did not permit the dog to get loose, a strict-liability framing. Section 6-2-1 defines running at large as a dog off the owner's premises and not under the owner's actual physical control by adequate leash, cord or chain. Section 6-2-4 pins down what counts as control: a dog off its owner's premises must be restrained on a leash no longer than six feet, strong enough to hold the animal, and held by a person competent to restrain it.

A loose dog does not just risk a citation. Section 6-2-3(B) directs the animal control officer to remove and, if necessary, treat any dog injured on public property while at large, with the owner on the hook for the veterinary bill and any impoundment fee; Section 6-2-3(C) makes the owner liable for disposal fees if the dog dies while running loose. Section 6-2-11(A) authorizes police or an animal control officer to impound a dog found running at large, either on their own initiative or after a private citizen signs a complaint, and Section 6-2-11(D) lets the owner reclaim it only after paying impoundment and maintenance costs and proving current rabies vaccination. An unclaimed dog may be destroyed, sold or otherwise disposed of six days after impoundment under Section 6-2-11(E).