Bellingham, WA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

BMC 7.08.110 groups eight separate dog-owner duties, from licensing to leash law to fecal cleanup, under one infraction penalty clause: "A violation of any of the following provisions shall constitute an infraction and shall subject the violator to a fine not to exceed $250.00." Subsection (G) is the noise rule: "It is unlawful to harbor or keep a dog which by frequent or habitual howls, barks, or other loud noises, unreasonably annoys or disturbs another resident in the immediate neighborhood."

The code separately defines the underlying term in BMC 7.04.030: a "barking dog" is "any dog which by frequent or habitual howling, yelping, or barking unreasonably annoys or disturbs other persons in the vicinity." The standard is conduct-based, frequency and habitual disturbance, not a decibel measurement, so a single bark or an isolated incident does not violate the section.

Liability follows "harboring," also defined in BMC 7.04.030: any occupant of premises where a dog "remains or to which it customarily returns daily for food and care for a period of 10 days is presumed to be harboring or keeping the animal," which lets enforcement reach a caretaker who is not the legal owner. Enforcement runs through the Bellingham-Whatcom County Humane Society's animal control officers, defined at BMC 7.04.030 as employees "authorized to enforce this title and the laws of the state of Washington as they relate to animal control and welfare." The rule traces to Ord. 10468 § 2 (1993) and remains unamended. [Ord. 10468 § 2, 1993].