Bothell, WA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

The household limit sits in the zoning code, BMC 12.06.140(B)(2), which lists the domestic animals permitted in residential uses. It allows three or fewer adult dogs per dwelling unit and three or fewer adult cats per dwelling unit, and then adds a combined cap: any combination of adult dogs and adult cats shall not exceed four. Three or fewer adult rabbits per dwelling unit are also listed. Offspring from females are permitted in addition to the adult maximum until they are able to survive independently. Animals other than and in excess of those the title permits require a conditional use permit, and the keeping of animals cannot become a public nuisance, with suitable structures or fences provided to restrain animals from leaving the premises.

The zoning text lets hobby kennels and catteries raise the number. The license itself is printed in BMC 6.08.070, even though the zoning paragraph points to Chapter 6.12. A hobby kennel license caps the total dogs and cats over six months old by lot area: no more than five on a lot under 35,000 square feet, no more than 10 on a lot of 35,000 square feet but less than five acres, and no more than 25 on five acres or more. Open run areas must be surrounded by a six-foot fence set back at least 20 feet from all property lines. Reproduction is limited to one litter per license year per female dog and two per female cat.

Owners with more than three dogs and cats combined who do not qualify can apply for a special hobby kennel license, issued at no cost, within 30 days of being contacted by an animal control officer. It allows one additional animal on any property, two on properties between 9,600 and 35,000 square feet, and three on properties of 35,000 square feet and greater, with no more than a total of six adult dogs or cats. It covers only the specific animals the owner then has, until death or transfer brings the household back to the legal limit.