The Dog The Pound Picked Up
Va. Code 3.2-6546 — a stray hold of not less than five days, and five more with identification
Five days. An animal confined at a public shelter is kept for not less than five days, starting the day after it is first confined, unless the owner claims it sooner.
With identification, five more. The shelter makes a reasonable effort to find a collar, tag, license, tattoo or other identification. If it finds one, the animal is held for an additional five-day stray hold period, and the shelter makes a reasonable effort to notify an identifiable owner within the 48 hours after confinement.
Dangerous dog proceedings, bite quarantines, and local fee schedules are set out elsewhere and are not on this page. What a particular shelter's hours or fees are is a question for that shelter or a licensed Virginia attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Va. Code 3.2-6546 — Public animal shelters; confinement and disposition of animals
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Virginia attorney.