What Wisconsin law says about licensing a boarding kennel or daycare, pets nobody picks up, and rabies. Checked November 2, 2026.
No state license
No state license. Check with your county or city; the state licenses shelters, breeders and dealers, not boarding.
No rule found
No abandonment law was found. A keeper's lien may let you hold a pet and sell it if the bill is unpaid after 2 months, but ask an attorney before relying on it.
Required
Dogs must be vaccinated by 5 months of age.
The search for an abandonment law was cut short, so one elsewhere in the statutes can't be ruled out.
Sources: Wis. Stat. § 173.41 Wis. Stat. §§ 779.43, 779.48 Wis. Stat. § 95.21
Facts, not legal advice. Laws change, and your county or city may have its own kennel permit: call them before you rely on any of this.
Zoning, your county or city, and the fire marshal come too. The Opening Kit walks you through all of them, with the questions to ask each office, then insurance, policies, prices and your first twenty clients.
$99
Eleven chapters, plus three free months of Goodstay from the day you open
Opening in Wisconsin? See the kit