2025 Dog Licences Now Available for Purchase

Richmond Hill requires all dogs to be licensed. Licence tags are easy to get and cost effective. They are valid from January 1 to December 31 each year.

Your pets are members of our community and we want them to be safe and enjoy living in Richmond Hill. Our Animal Control By-Laws keep our community and companion animals safe by making sure pet owners understand their responsibilities.

Learn about being a good pet owner in Richmond Hill:

• Responsible pet ownership
• Animal licences
• Off-leash areas
• 2025 Dog Tag Online Purchase 

New Responsible Pet Ownership and Animal Regulation By-law

The City is pleased to announce the enactment of the new animal regulation by-law. The Responsible Pet Ownership and Animal Regulation By-law supports the health and safety of animals and the public, demonstrating our continued commitment to responsible pet ownership, public safety and animal welfare.

New changes in the by-law include:

• Cat Licensing (coming soon)
• Modernized Dangerous Dog Restrictions and Owner Requirements 
• Reduced Household Pet Limits – Maximum of seven animals per household, including no more than three dogs and four cats
• Positive Pets List – Outlining approved types of animals that may be kept as household pets
• Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) enforcement for violations

Animal Services

Richmond Hill has a partnership with the City of Vaughan Animal Services that provides animal control and animal shelter services. Officers respond to calls about wildlife and pets.

You can contact them for:

• animal by-law violations
• off leash or stray animals
• a lost/found pet
• injured animals
• dog bite or attack
• complaints about barking dogs or poop and scoop
• to report dead animals on public property, including the road (note that private property owners are responsible for addressing dead and nuisance wildlife on private property)
• animal cruelty concerns

Contact Vaughan Animal Services

Website: www.vaughan.ca/animalservices
Telephone: 905-832-2281 (press "0" to speak with Access Vaughan)
Toll free: 1-855-227-7297
Email: animal.services@vaughan.ca​

Note: Vaughan Animal Services responds to emergency calls 24/7.

Microchip and Rabies Clinics 

Check back for upcoming clinic dates and times.

Dangerous Dogs

Provincial Offences Officers have authority to designate a dog as dangerous, and require the dog’s owner to comply with requirements as set out in a Dangerous Dog Notice to ensure the dog does not pose a risk to the community. A dangerous dog means a dog that, in the absence of any mitigating factor, has bitten or attacked a person or domestic animal. A dog may also be designated as dangerous if they display menacing behaviour which includes snapping, snarling or chasing.

A dog owner may contest the requirements of a Dangerous Dog Notice through an appeal hearing. A request for an appeal hearing must be made in writing within ten days of receipt of the Notice. Once an appeal request is reviewed and approved, the appeal hearing will be scheduled upon payment of the Dangerous Dog Hearing Fee.

Dangerous Dog Notice appeal hearings are conducted by the City’s appointed Hearing Officer, and in accordance with the Statutory Powers and Procedures Act. Upon review of the Dangerous Dog Notice, the Hearing Officer may confirm, amend or rescind the requirements set out in the Notice. Should the Dangerous Dog Notice be rescinded in its entirety, the Dangerous Dog Hearing Review fee will be refunded. 

While a hearing request may be made, the Dangerous Dog Notice requirements take effect once the order is served and remain in effect until a hearing is held and a decision is provided.

Avian Influenza (H5N1) - Bird Flu

Report sick or dead wild birds: With geese starting to return to the community, York Region municipalities including Richmond Hill, may see wild birds that have died or are infected with avian influenza (H5N1), also known as bird flu.

Just a reminder that if you come across sick or dead geese, ducks or other wild birds in Richmond Hill:

• Do not touch them
• Report them to our animal services provider, Vaughan Animal Services at 905-832-2281 or animal.services@vaughan.ca 

For more information, visit our Wildlife in the City page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pets in Richmond Hill