Erie does not set a fixed numeric limit on the number of dogs or cats a household may keep, relying instead on nuisance and restraint provisions; Pennsylvania's Dog Law requires a kennel license at 26 or more dogs in a calendar year.
The City of Erie Codified Ordinances Article 729 (Animals) regulate animals through restraint, running-at-large, nuisance, and dangerous-animal provisions rather than a hard cap on the number of dogs or cats per residence. Owners must still keep every animal under restraint, license dogs, and avoid creating a nuisance. The controlling numeric threshold comes from state law: under the Pennsylvania Dog Law, 3 P.S. Sec. 459-101 et seq., a 'kennel' is an establishment that keeps, harbors, boards, shelters, sells, gives away, or in any way transfers a cumulative total of 26 or more dogs in any calendar year, and operating one requires a state kennel license issued by the Department of Agriculture. Households below that threshold are not subject to a state numeric limit, though each individual dog three months or older must be licensed under 3 P.S. Sec. 459-201.
Keeping 26 or more dogs in a year without a state kennel license violates the Pennsylvania Dog Law; locally, animals kept in a way that creates a nuisance or that run at large are subject to Animal Enforcement citation and seizure.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Erie, PA
Erie's zoning ordinance does not restrict fence materials by type, but it imposes an opacity rule near corners and driveways: a fence is only 'see-through' i...
Erie, PA
Swimming pools in Erie must comply with IRC Chapter 42 Appendix G and IBC Section 3109.4 as adopted by the PA UCC (34 Pa. Code 401-405). Barriers must be at ...
Erie, PA
Erie's Zoning Ordinance regulates fence height, location, and visibility but does not prescribe a list of allowed materials for residential fences. Specializ...
Erie, PA
Erie's Zoning Ordinance Section 204.19 allows a fence to be placed up to but not over the property line, and does not require neighbor consent. Boundary disp...
Erie, PA
The City of Erie issues a dedicated 'Fence' permit. Applications run through Code Enforcement (Room 407, City Hall) and require zoning and building-code revi...
Erie, PA
Erie permits recreational backyard fires of seasoned firewood between 5 pm and 11 pm Monday-Thursday and 5 pm to midnight on weekends and federal holidays, k...
See how Erie's pet limits rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.