Gary, IN Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Chapter 8's licensing article sets the city's real pet-limit rule. Section 8-69(a) requires anyone owning, keeping, harboring, or having custody of any animal over three months old to obtain a license from the city controller's office, with a rabies certificate from a licensed veterinarian. Subsection (d) then draws the household line: it is unlawful to have more than three licenses for animals at any one time for the same household or noncommercial establishment unless the address has and operates under a kennel permit. The definitions section, § 8-1, backs that limit with a bright line, defining a kennel to include any household or noncommercial animal establishment harboring four or more animals.

Read together, a Gary household can license up to three dogs, cats, or other licensable animals without a kennel permit; keeping a fourth reclassifies the property as a kennel, which under § 8-70 requires its own city permit, compliance with rabies-control-unit regulations for humane care, and an annual renewal tied to the fiscal year. Licenses run for one year starting with the fiscal year, cost the fee set in Chapter 20, and must be obtained within 30 days of acquiring an animal older than three months.