Shasta County, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 6.04.080(A) of the Shasta County Code makes it unlawful for any person to own or possess more than six dogs over the age of four months on any lot, premises, dwelling, building, structure, vessel, or living accommodation, except as permitted by that section or as a legal use existing when the chapter was enacted. To keep more, the Code provides several one-year permits issued by the Sheriff's Office Animal Regulation Unit (or the contract agency): a dog hobbyist permit and a ranch dog owner permit, each defined in 6.04.020 as covering not more than twenty dogs over four months kept for non-commercial purposes (hobbyist: hunting, shows, trials, sledding, or perpetuating a breed; ranch dog: properties zoned for full-time agriculture, including herding and protecting livestock); a non-commercial dog sanctuary permit, for keeping more than twenty dogs for non-commercial purposes; and a commercial animal establishment permit for businesses that buy, sell, board, train or rent animals. Permits can carry conditions such as proof of current rabies vaccination, a cap on the number of dogs, and humane-care terms, and they do not waive zoning or building requirements (6.04.080). No permit may be issued for breeding or training dogs for fighting events (6.04.080(E)), and permits can be revoked for code violations or for keeping a declared dangerous/vicious dog. The County Code does not set a numerical limit on cats, though all cats over four months must be rabies-vaccinated (6.04.070).