Minnehaha County, SD Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Scope. The county ordinance applies only to unincorporated Minnehaha County. The 2017 Animal Control Ordinance was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners under SDCL § 7-18A-2 (county ordinance authority) and SDCL § 7-12-29 (Sheriff enforcement of county ordinances). Inside cities such as Sioux Falls (Code Title 90), Brandon, and Dell Rapids, the city leash ordinance — not the county ordinance — governs. Enforcement. The Animal Control Officer (or any Law Enforcement Officer or 'other proper authority' designated by the County Health Board) may impound any animal found in violation. Impounded animals are held under the redemption procedures in the ordinance, and unredeemed animals may be disposed of after the statutory holding period. Vicious / dangerous dogs. SDCL § 40-34-14 defines a vicious dog as one that without provocation approaches a person in apparent attitude of attack, bites, or inflicts injury on any public street, sidewalk, or ground — or on private property attacks a mail carrier, meter reader, or similar permitted visitor. Under SDCL § 40-34-13 the keeping of a vicious dog is a public nuisance subject to abatement. State framework. SDCL § 40-1-1 (livestock running at large) and SDCL Chapter 40-34 supply the statewide baseline; dog-bite liability in South Dakota is governed by the general negligence standard plus § 40-34-13. Rural / livestock context. Under SDCL § 40-1-5, a livestock owner whose animals are attacked by a dog at large may kill the dog without civil liability — a meaningful rule in agricultural Minnehaha County.