If You Live in Missoula and Have More Than Two Dogs, You’ll Want to Know This

Missoula is a dog-loving town. There's barely a trail without four paws accompanying the human feet. Sometimes you'll see twelve paws as I've seen a fair number of Missoulians who have not one, not two, but three dogs. I notice because I'm about to be one of them.

I have a geriatric greyhound and a six-year-old heeler mix that used to play together all the time, but now the greyhound is a little slower. But the heeler mix still wants to play. After a lot of back and forth, my husband and I decided it was time to get a puppy. We figured (sadly) that we wouldn't be a three-dog house for long, but now was a good time to bring in a new companion for the heeler mix.

READ MORE: If You See a Dog in Missoula Wearing Red or Yellow, Here's What It Means

I found an awesome pup at Missoula City-County Animal Control and began the adoption process. There was one step that I wasn't aware of: I had to complete a multi-dog permit.

Missoula's Multi-Dog Permit

It turns out, that if you plan to have more than two dogs for longer than 60 days, you need to have a permit in the city of Missoula. Fortunately, the permit application is pretty simple. You'll have to describe your dogs, how they'll be raised, where they will live, and how they'll be cared for. The permit application fee is $75. Then the application will be reviewed by the Animal Control Board.

I discovered this because I was adopting my dog from Missoula City-County Animal Control, but according to the ordinance, this applies to all dog owners in the city, regardless of where the dog(s) were adopted.

If you'd like to read the ordinance, you can find it at this link under sections 6.07.720 Number of Dogs and 0.07.730 Multiple dog permit.