Pets in Palo Alto

Palo Alto is a dog town. You will see them on the Bryant Street bike boulevard, at the Saturday farmers market and in long lines of leashes on the Baylands levees. The city keeps animals on a short leash, though. Dogs must be licensed, leashes are required almost everywhere outside the fenced dog parks and the open space preserves each set their own rules.

This guide covers licensing, how the city's animal control and shelter are organized, where dogs can go and where to turn when something goes wrong after hours. Fees and phone numbers come from the city's own pages in October 2026. For a deeper look at off-leash areas and dog-friendly trails, see our dog parks guide.

Licensing your dog

California requires dogs to be vaccinated against rabies. Palo Alto also requires them to be licensed. The city's dog licensing page says you can license a dog if you live in Palo Alto, Los Altos or Los Altos Hills. Owning an unlicensed dog can bring a citation with fines of $50 to $150 per dog.

Since March 2025 the City of Palo Alto itself issues and enforces dog licenses. Pets In Need processed them before that. It no longer handles licensing but still operates the shelter, as it has since February 2019. Licenses are sold online or by mail only, so do not expect to buy one at the shelter counter.

What it costs

These fees come from the city's fiscal year 2027 license application:

The form also lists reduced fees for seniors 62 and older and for veterans with ID. Call licensing at (650) 496-5960 to confirm the amount that applies to you. Service dogs are licensed free with a Service Dog Affidavit, limited to one per person.

How to apply

1. Get a rabies certificate from your vet. It must show the vaccine date, expiration date, manufacturer and serial number. A plain receipt is not accepted and a vet's rabies tag is not a license tag.
2. Find your spay or neuter certificate if your dog is altered. It cuts the one-year fee from $76 to $20 and is needed for new licenses, not renewals.
3. Apply online through the city's licensing portal, or mail the application with a check or card details to Dog Licensing, 3281 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303. There is no in-person licensing at the shelter.
4. Match the term to the vaccine. The rabies vaccine must stay valid for the full license period, so a dog with a one-year shot gets a one-year license.

Tell Animal Control if you move away or your dog dies or is rehomed. Overpayments are treated as donations and are not refunded. If a vet decides a rabies shot would endanger your dog's health, the vet, not the owner, asks the Santa Clara County health officer for a one-year exemption.

Cats do not need a license in Palo Alto, Los Altos or Los Altos Hills.

Animal Control and the shelter

Palo Alto splits animal services into two parts. The Police Department's Animal Control Division handles enforcement and field calls. A nonprofit runs the shelter.

Animal Control officers

Officers serve Palo Alto, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. They respond to stray, sick, injured or dead animals including wildlife, aggressive animals, bites, cruelty and neglect cases and animals in distress. They also issue livestock permits, such as the permit for backyard chickens. Beehives are handled differently: city code requires written consent from adjacent neighbors, allows at most 2 hives and keeps them 25 feet from property lines (see our beekeeping guide). The city says officers are on duty every day of the year, at minimum from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours, Palo Alto police respond to stray dogs, bites, leash and barking complaints, neglect and aggressive animals. The 24-hour dispatch line is (650) 329-2413. Non-urgent questions can go to [email protected], which is not monitored around the clock.

The shelter and Pets In Need

Palo Alto ran its own animal shelter for more than 100 years. In February 2019 it switched to a contract model. Since then Pets In Need, a nonprofit based in Redwood City, has operated the City of Palo Alto Animal Shelter at 3281 East Bayshore Road, near the Baylands. Pets In Need handles adoptions, spay and neuter and vaccine clinics, owner surrenders, cat trap rentals, feral cat management and volunteers.

• Shelter hours are 12:30 to 6 p.m. daily, according to the city.
• The shelter's main line is (650) 496-5971.
• Animal Control accepts strays and surrendered animals only from Palo Alto, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
• Pets In Need runs a low-cost vaccine clinic at the Palo Alto shelter on Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Pets In Need also runs a shelter at 871 5th Avenue in Redwood City, (650) 367-1405.

Our animal shelter guide covers adoptions, surrenders and lost pets in more detail. Looking for a new pet? See our pet adoption guide. For routine care beyond the vaccine clinic, our list of veterinarians near Palo Alto can help. If you want to help, our volunteering guide lists Pets In Need among local animal welfare groups.

Lost and found pets

Pets In Need handles lost and found reports for the shelter through 24PetConnect, an online database of shelter animals. If your pet goes missing:

1. Check 24PetConnect and call the shelter.
2. Walk the neighborhood and talk to neighbors, starting closest to home.
3. Post on neighborhood email lists and social media.
4. Make sure your pet's microchip registration has your current phone number.

The Peninsula Humane Society also takes lost and found calls at (650) 340-8200, extension 339. A current license tag is the fastest way home. A licensed dog can be traced to its owner by anyone who reads the tag number.

Leash rules and dog parks

Outside the fenced dog parks, Palo Alto requires a leash on streets, sidewalks, parks and other public places. In city open space preserves the leash can be no longer than six feet and dogs may not chase or disturb wildlife.

• Dog parks. The city has four fenced dog parks at Mitchell, Peers, Greer and Hoover parks. They are open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a limit of three dogs per person. Mitchell Park's expanded dog run, with a separate small-dog area, opened January 28, 2025. See our Mitchell Park guide.
• Foothills Nature Preserve. Leashed dogs are allowed on weekdays only.
• Pearson-Arastradero Preserve. Leashed dogs are welcome every day. Our Arastradero guide covers the trails.
• Baylands. Leashed dogs can walk the levees, but keep them out of the marsh. See our Baylands guide.
• Stanford Dish. No dogs except trained service animals.

Pick up after your dog everywhere and carry your own bags.

Emergency vets

For routine care, most Palo Alto vets are clustered along El Camino Real and Middlefield Road. Our business directory lists verified local services. Ask your regular vet where it sends patients after hours before you need to know.

Inside Palo Alto, Veterinary Emergency Group on El Camino Real lists itself as open 24/7. Another 24-hour emergency animal hospital is MedVet Mountain View at 601 Showers Drive, Mountain View, just past the city line near San Antonio Road. Its site lists the emergency room as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with urgent care, internal medicine and surgery. No appointment is needed for emergencies. The listed number is (650) 494-1461. Call on the way if you can so staff can prepare.

Wildlife and coyotes

Palo Alto backs onto the bay and the foothills, so wildlife calls are common. The city's Animal Control page gives this guidance:

• Injured wildlife after hours. If it is safe, place the animal in a box and take it to MedVet at 601 Showers Drive at no cost. Otherwise leave it boxed for the morning officer. Do not feed it.
• Wildlife rehabilitation. The Peninsula Humane Society's non-emergency wildlife line is (650) 340-8200, extension 414.
• Mountain lions. Report sightings in natural habitat to the city's naturalist at (650) 329-2382.
• Mosquitoes and rodents. Santa Clara County Vector Control handles these on weekdays at (800) 675-1155.

Coyotes live in the foothills and along the Baylands and are sometimes seen in neighborhoods. Keep cats indoors, feed pets inside and keep small dogs close on walks near open space. Emergencies involving people always go to 911. Our public safety guide covers the police and fire departments.

Frequently asked questions