No Daly City ordinance sets a fixed numeric limit on the number of dogs or cats per household. Under the countywide San Mateo County animal control program that Daly City has adopted, keeping more than four dogs and cats requires an annual Fancier Permit, and unaltered dogs or cats over six months require a breeding permit.
Daly City Municipal Code Title 6, rewritten by Ordinance No. 1470 (2024) to match the County of San Mateo's animal control ordinance, contains no per-household cap on the number of dogs or cats. Pet keeping is instead controlled through the countywide permit system administered by San Mateo County Animal Control and Licensing: the county requires an annual Fancier Permit for any property zoned to allow a person to harbor more than four animals (dogs and cats), and an annual breeding permit for any person who owns or harbors an unaltered cat or dog over the age of six months. Daly City's adopted fee schedule, Municipal Code Section 6.04.350(d), prices these at $150.00 for a Breeding Permit and $100.00 for a Fancier Permit and/or Exotic Pet fee, confirming both permits operate in Daly City. Every dog and cat over three months must also be individually licensed under Section 6.04.040. Excessive animal keeping can still be abated as a public nuisance: Section 6.08.050 declares failure to exercise proper care or control of any animal a nuisance, and Section 6.08.060 allows abatement on the written complaint of five or more neighbors.
Keeping more than four dogs and cats without the required county Fancier Permit, or an unaltered animal without a breeding permit, can draw administrative citations of $100, $200, then $500 under Sections 6.04.200 and 6.04.230, plus infraction fines under Section 6.10.010. Nuisance conditions can trigger abatement orders under Section 6.08.060.
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