Santee, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 6.10.080(A), adopted by Ordinance 559 in 2019, states plainly that a dog owner or custodian or a person who has control of a dog must prevent the dog from being at large, with narrow exceptions in subsections (B) and (D) for hunting, herding livestock, or assisting a law enforcement officer. At large is defined in Section 6.02.020 to include being on private property without permission, being unrestrained by a leash on public property or property open to the public, or being attached to a leash no one is actually holding.

Subsection (C) governs dogs lawfully on private property: the owner must keep the dog leashed or tethered as allowed under Health and Safety Code Section 122335(2), under direct and effective voice or electronic-containment control, or inside a building or enclosure adequate to physically confine it. A leash under Section 6.02.020 means rope, strap or chain six feet or less, held in the hand of a person capable of controlling the dog; a leash that is not actually held does not satisfy the restraint requirement. San Diego County Animal Services, the authorized agency contracted to administer Title 6 for Santee, along with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Santee Station, can capture a dog found at large under Section 6.10.160 and, in the officer's judgment, destroy it if necessary for public health and safety, though the more common outcome is impoundment with notice posted at the owner's front door if no one is home.