Woodbury, MN Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Sec. 5-17 permits the keeping of domesticated pets, as defined in Sec. 5-16, only for personal use and enjoyment, not for business or production purposes, and caps the number at three per property. Domesticated pets are defined broadly to include cats, dogs, caged birds, aquarium fish, non-venomous reptiles and amphibians, and small mammals such as rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, and fancy mice or rats, but aquarium fish are expressly exempted from the three-pet cap. Once a property houses four or more dogs, cats, or other domesticated pets over three months old, Sec.

5-16 defines it as a "kennel," and Sec. 5-17 states that keeping a kennel is prohibited except by interim conditional use permit obtained under Sec. 24-132(e) and Sec. 24-133(e) of the zoning code, meaning a resident who wants a fourth dog or cat must go through the city's zoning process rather than simply registering the extra animal. The three-pet limit sits alongside separate livestock rules: chicken-hens are allowed on R-1 and R-2 lots at set densities, and other livestock, including bees, is confined to agriculturally zoned parcels of five acres or more, so the pet cap applies specifically to companion animals kept in the household rather than to livestock kept in a separate accessory building.