Auburn, AL Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

A of the Zoning Ordinance states the limit flatly: no person may keep or maintain more than three dogs aged six months or older in connection with a residential dwelling unit, unless the property sits in the Rural (R) District, where the cap does not apply. The rule is written as a use-based zoning standard rather than a health-department licensing rule, so it sits alongside Auburn's other Article V "Standards Applicable to Certain Uses" that govern what a residential lot may host. It is enforced separately from, and in addition to, the City's animal-control and rabies-vaccination requirements found in the general Code of Ordinances, which regulate how any dog must be kept (leashed, tethered, vaccinated) regardless of how many the household owns.

Because the three-dog cap lives in the Zoning Ordinance, code enforcement can treat exceeding it as a zoning violation subject to the Planning Department's compliance process, separate from an Animal Control citation for an individual animal's behavior or condition. Puppies under six months are not counted toward the limit, so a litter does not automatically put a household over the cap until the puppies reach that age.