Fitchburg, WI Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Fitchburg's animal control chapter does not set a flat numeric ceiling on cats or dogs per household; instead section 56-30, titled Kennels, triggers a separate inspection and certification regime once an owner reaches four or more dogs. Under subsection (a), the owner of four or more dogs must have the premises or kennel area inspected annually by the city's humane officer, or by a person the humane officer appoints, to confirm the dogs and their housing meet legal requirements and stay within the boundaries of the city's zoning laws in chapter 22.

Subsection (b) requires the inspector to issue a written certificate of inspection once the owner proves compliance, and that certificate must be handed to the tax collector when the annual dog license tax is paid under section 56-25, which applies to every dog five months or older kept in the city. Subsection (c) makes the certificate a standing obligation: an owner whose premises must be inspected has to keep a valid certificate of inspection for the current calendar year on hand and produce it on request of any police officer or humane officer.

Because the ordinance folds the four-or-more threshold into the licensing and zoning-compliance system rather than an outright numerical cap, a Fitchburg household is not legally barred from owning five, six or more dogs; it is instead obligated to pass an annual kennel inspection and carry proof of it. Failure to hold that certificate, or to permit the inspection, is enforced as a code violation under section 56-2, which applies the citywide forfeiture schedule in section 1-21.