Ascension Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

The parish code's only microchip mandate sits inside the dangerous-dog article. Once a dog has been classified dangerous, potentially dangerous or vicious, Sec. 5-83 gives the owner ten days to comply with a list of requirements that includes, at item (2), obtaining a microchip for the dog at the owner's own expense. That sits alongside the section's other mandates for a classified dog: an annual dangerous-dog tag on the collar, a securely locked and reinforced outdoor enclosure meeting minimum size and construction standards, warning signage at every entry point to the property, and muzzling with a leash no longer than four feet whenever the dog leaves its enclosure.

Ordinary pet dogs and cats that have never been classified dangerous are not required to be chipped under this code; Sec. 5-47 covers their registration and tagging instead, and does not mention microchips. Separately, Sec. 5-79 provides that an impounded animal that is not claimed and is placed up for adoption 'shall include microchipping and/or spay/neuter' as a condition the shelter applies before rehoming it, but that is a shelter adoption practice, not a duty imposed on every owner. Animal control can inspect a dangerous dog's enclosure and records at any time under Sec. 5-83 to confirm compliance, including the microchip requirement.