Portage County, WI Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Portage County's animal control ordinance, Chapter 4.9 of the County Code, adopts Wis. Stat. § 95.21 and chs. 173-174 by reference and applies in the towns of unincorporated Portage County, alongside Stevens Point, Plover and the county's other cities and villages unless a municipality has adopted its own animal ordinance. Section 4.9.12(1) makes it unlawful for an owner to let any animal, defined broadly in § 4.9.3(1) to include every warm-blooded creature, reptile, amphibian and fish, run at large, and ties liability for damage to the owner even where the animal escapes without the owner's fault; a fence around the property does not cut off that liability.

Section 4.9.3(21) defines 'restraint' as securing the animal on a leash or lead, keeping it under the direct, obedient control of a responsible person, or confining it within the owner's own property line. Enforcement runs through the Portage County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff-appointed humane officers under § 4.9.17, who may pursue and impound at-large animals under § 4.9.14, charging the owner accrued impoundment and veterinary fees before release. Every dog over five months old must also carry a current county license under § 4.9.4 ($12.00 if neutered or spayed, $22.00 if not, plus a $5.00 late fee after April 1) backed by proof of rabies vaccination.

Violations of the at-large rule bring escalating forfeitures under § 4.9.18(1): $25.00 for a first offense, $50.00 for a second, $75.00 for a third and $100.00 for a fourth or later offense, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense, plus court costs.