Mason County, WA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Mason County Code § 4.08.030(6) makes it a public nuisance, and therefore unlawful, for an owner to permit an animal to annoy or disturb a neighborhood or the quiet and repose of one or more persons by habitually howling, barking, yelping or other prolonged sounds as determined by an enforcement officer. The nuisance section is enforced separately from MCC 4.08.050's animals-at-large rule, so a barking complaint does not require proof the dog left its owner's property. Section 4.08.040(2) carves out an exception for an animal emitting reasonable animal noises, so a dog barking briefly at a passerby is not automatically a violation; the enforcement officer, drawn from the county's animal control authority housed in the Mason County Sheriff's Office, makes that call.

MCC 4.08.150(b)(1) sets a graduated penalty table specifically for public nuisance violations under Section 4.08.030 within any twelve-month period: a first violation draws only a warning notice, a second draws a $100 civil infraction, a third draws a $250 civil infraction, and a fourth is charged as a misdemeanor. Beyond the escalating fines, MCC 4.08.110 lets the animal control authority treat an owner as a habitual violator after three notices of violation in twelve months, ordering the animal removed from the county within seventy-two hours or transferred to another household, with an appeal available to district court filed before close of business on the second business day after service.