The City of Trinidad contracts with Humboldt County Animal Control to respond to issues within the city limits.
You can reach Humboldt County animal control during regular business hours at (707) 840-9132.
After hours non-emergency calls should be directed to the Humboldt County Sheriff at (707) 445-7251.
For all emergency calls, dial 911.
LEASH LAW: Title 6 of the City of Trinidad Municipal Code includes the Animal Control Ordinance (Chapter 6.04, DOGS) that defines the City's animal control authority to enforce licensing, dog behavior, and the leash law. The only area inside city limits that dogs are legally allowed off-leash are confined within the owners own property - or premise as defined by ordinance.
Any dog off-leash on public property is considered to be "at-large". Public property includes beaches within city limits (Old Home, Launcher, and Trinidad State Beach from Trinidad Head north to Mill Creek). Public property also includes all right-of-ways and sidewalks, and trails (Trinidad Head, Underwood, Parker Creek, Wagner Street, Van Wycke, and the Axel Lindgren Memorial Trail).
Dogs must be on leash (teather, cord, chain, etc.) everywhere inside city limits. Voice-command is not recognized by the City of Trinidad as an acceptable form of control.
REPORT NUISANCE OR AGGRESSIVE DOGS: The City of Trinidad encourages residents and visitors to report nuisance or aggressive dogs. Proactive reporting ensures that dogs/owners that repeatedly violate local ordinances or become a public safety nuisance are not treated as first offenders in the event of a more serious incident.
The first thing to do is get to a safe place, then report emergencies to the Sheriff by calling 911.
If the incident is a non-emergency, but a significant offense, please contact Humboldt County Animal Control at the number listed above.
For incidents that are able to be documented, the City encourages reports (photos, incident summary) to be sent to cityclerk [at] trinidad.ca.gov (cityclerk[at]trinidad[dot]ca[dot]gov), or by contacting 707-677-0223. The reports will be accepted as complaints, tracked, and will be used to document repeat offenses should any incident escalate to an emergency due to vicious or aggressive animal behavior.
PET OWNERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BEING KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT WHERE THEIR DOGS ARE ALLOWED OFF-LEASH
MORE INFORMATION ON DOG FRIENDLY HUMBOLDT COUNTY BEACHES
The map link above is a guide that will help ensure you know the local laws. Do not hesitate to reach out directly to the County of Humboldt, Trinidad Coastal Land Trust, or the California State Parks Department located at Sumeg for more guidance and details about laws in their jurisdictions:
HUMBOLDT COUNTY PARKS - Clam Beach, Moonstone
TRINIDAD COASTAL LAND TRUST - Baker Beach, Luffenholtz, Tepona, Camel Rock
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS - SUMEG - Trinidad State Beach, College Cove, Sumeg, Lagoons