Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Restraint required
- Continuously, all animals
- Restraint methods
- Leash, harness, chain, tether, fence, or voice control
- Applies
- Borough-wide, incl. Wasilla, Palmer, Houston
- First-offense fine
- $100
- Third-offense fine (12 mo.)
- $200
- Mushing exemption
- Sled dogs actively mushing, licensed facility
Summary
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Code § 24.05.070(A) requires every animal, not just dogs, to be under continuous restraint: a leash, harness, chain, tether, fence, building, or competent voice control during an organized activity or licensed mushing. Animal Care and Regulation enforces it borough-wide, including inside Wasilla, Palmer and Houston, with fines starting at $100.
All animals shall be continuously under restraint. ... No person shall release, without permission of the owner, any animal from restraint, except to preserve the animal's life. ... No person shall have an animal within, on, or attached to a motor vehicle under conditions that may endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the animal. An animal carried in the bed of a truck or in any open vehicle shall be crated or restrained so it cannot fall, jump, or reach out from the vehicle.
Full Breakdown
010 defines restraint as actual physical control, meaning a leash, harness, chain, tether, fence or building, or competent voice control while an animal actively works in an organized activity, recognized hunting, or licensed mushing. Subsection (B) treats a herd, flock or other grouped livestock as a single violation rather than one per animal. Subsection (C) makes it unlawful for anyone but the owner to release an animal from restraint except to save its life, and subsection (E) bars carrying an animal in or on a vehicle in a way that endangers it: an animal riding in a truck bed or open vehicle must be crated or restrained so it can't fall, jump or reach out.
Unlike the borough's zoning and land-use chapters, Title 24 Animal Care and Regulation carries no carve-out for the cities; the restraint duty applies across the whole borough, including inside Wasilla, Palmer and Houston, and is enforced by the chief animal care and regulation officer and deputy officers. 070 itself, so a loose sled dog off-duty is treated the same as any other unrestrained animal.
Violations & Fines
Failure to restrain an animal under § 24.05.070(A) is an infraction punished under the borough's fine schedule at MSB § 24.40.050: $100 for a first offense, $150 for a second offense by the same owner within 12 months, and $200 for a third. A nonowner who releases someone else's animal from restraint faces the same $100/$150/$200 schedule under § 24.05.070(C). Animal Care and Regulation officers issue the citations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the leash rule apply inside Wasilla and Palmer too?
What counts as restraint besides a leash?
What's the fine for an off-leash dog?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Compare Matanuska-Susitna Borough to another location·View the Alaska animal ordinances overview
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