December 17, 2018
The City of Manteca, California, is considering a new ordinance that will prohibit residents from owning more than three dogs or three cats over 4 months of age. To legally own more than three dogs, a resident would need a city kennel license.
The city council will consider this proposed ordinance at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 18, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be at the Manteca City Hall, 1001 W. Center St., Manteca, California.
The AKC opposes limit laws as they are arbitrary and do not solve the problem of irresponsible dog owners. Visit the AKC Legislative Action Center Key Issues page on limit laws for talking points and more information on this issue.
What You Can Do:
- Submit Comments to the Manteca City Council:
- Mayor Benjamin J. Cantu bcantu@ci.manteca.ca.us
- Vice Mayor David Breitenbucher dbreitenbucher@ci.manteca.ca.us
- Council Member Debby Morehead dmoorhead@ci.manteca.ca.us
- Council Member Gary Singh gsingh@ci.manteca.ca.us
- Council Member Jose Cuño jnuno@ci.manteca.ca.us
- Attend the City Council meeting and speak during the comment period on the proposed ordinance. The meeting will be at the Manteca City Hall, 1001 W. Center St., Manteca at
7 p.m.
Residents must now apply to the city for a kennel license. Anyone living with 200 feet of the proposed kennel location may protest the kennel application and the city is required to deny the application. There is no procedure for an appeal. The city’s ordinance allows the grandfathering of established kennels that were operating on April 5, 1954, more than 34 years ago.
The AKC opposes limits on dog ownership. Instead of placing an arbitrary limit on the number of dogs a person may own, the better solution would be to enforce leash laws, nuisance laws, and other similar laws that hold dog owners accountable regardless of the number of dogs they own. The proposed ordinance contains language requiring pet owners to clean any waste their animals deposit in any public area or on private property where the animal owner has not obtained permission. The AKC supports that language as it promotes responsible dog ownership.
AKC Government Relations will continue to monitor this proposal. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.