Muncie, IN Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

City Code § 90.06 states that a dog or cat "at large and not under restraint" is taken by an agent of the animal care and services department, impounded, and confined in a humane manner for a period of not less than five working days unless sooner claimed by the owner; unclaimed animals may then be sold, adopted out, or otherwise humanely disposed of. The registry required under § 90.06(A) records each impounded animal's breed, color, sex and microchip number if the dog is chipped.

Section 90.08(A) supplies the underlying restraint standard: all animals must be kept under restraint, with one narrow exception for cats that have been spayed or neutered and are wearing identification, or are ear-tipped or tattooed as part of a managed feral colony. Reclaiming an impounded animal costs $35.00 under § 90.06(F), plus $10.00 per day of boarding on a first impound and $20.00 per day on a second; a third impound makes the animal non-returnable. Restraint violations carry their own separate fine schedule under § 90.08.01(B): $20.00 for a first offense involving an altered animal, rising in $20.00 increments for repeat offenses within 12 months, and $100.00 for a first offense involving an unaltered animal, rising in $40.00 increments, though an owner who agrees to spay or neuter the animal before reclaiming it is charged only the altered-animal rate.