El Dorado Hills · Folsom · Granite Bay · the foothills
I have raised Shetland Sheepdogs for more than twenty eight years and I have moved families out here for twenty, so between the two I have moved a great many dogs. Most of them mine. This is what I have learned, including the one deadline nobody warns you about.
Yes, and there is a clock on it. Dogs four months and older have to be licensed, and a dog entering the county has thirty days. If your dog is already licensed in another California county, that license has to be transferred to an El Dorado County one inside the same thirty days.
A valid rabies certificate issued and signed by a licensed vet. Bring the spay or neuter certificate as well if you have one, because the altered rate is far lower. One catch worth knowing before you drive over: a license cannot be issued if the rabies vaccination is due to expire in less than six months.
El Dorado Hills Community Park, 1021 Harvard Way. It sits west of New York Creek in the wooded stretch alongside the athletic fields, with parking to the north and to the south, and it has separate areas for large and small dogs.
FIDO Field, 1780 Creekside Drive, also with separate sides for small and large dogs. The city keeps a closure line on 916 461 6677, which is worth ringing after heavy rain or if they are reseeding.
Start here
This is the one that catches people, because it is not on any moving checklist and nobody at the closing table mentions it. El Dorado County requires every dog four months or older to be licensed, and a dog arriving from somewhere else has thirty days to be on the county's books. A California license from another county does not carry over on its own. It has to be transferred, inside the same thirty days.
The trap. A license cannot be purchased if the rabies vaccination is due to expire in less than six months. So somebody arrives in week three, drives out to get the license, and is sent away to the vet first. If your dog's rabies is inside a year of running out, book the booster before the move rather than after it.
Bring the rabies certificate, signed by a licensed vet. Bring the spay or neuter paperwork too. For the unincorporated county and Placerville the altered rate is $20.24 for one year against $75 unaltered, so the certificate is worth finding before you go. Late fees are $20.
Figures and rules are the county's, current as of September 2026. They change, so check the county's pet licensing page before you rely on a number.
Before the van
The day
The single biggest risk on a moving day is the front door. It stands open for six hours while strangers carry furniture through it, and a dog who has never run in their life will run.
The new house
Do the boring things first and the settling takes care of itself.
Where the dogs go
Three I can vouch for, with the details from the people who run them rather than from a directory.
1021 Harvard Way, El Dorado Hills. West of New York Creek in the wooded stretch beside the athletic fields, with parking to the north and to the south. Separate areas for large and small dogs, and the district describes it as fully accessible.
Run by the El Dorado Hills CSD1780 Creekside Drive, Folsom. Separate play areas for small and large dogs. The city runs a closure line on 916 461 6677 for weather and renovation, which is worth a call before you drive over in a wet month.
Run by the City of Folsom4650 Oriental Street, El Dorado, inside the Historical Railroad Park. Open daily from 6am until dusk, with separate small and large areas, shaded seating and waste bag stations. It is a proper drive from El Dorado Hills, but it is the one with shade in August.
County Parks and Trails, (530) 621-5360It is the obvious place to take a dog and it is state park land, so the rules are not the city's rules and they are not the same everywhere in the park or in every season. Check the park's own page before you load the car, because the difference between a good afternoon and a citation is about four minutes of reading.
Folsom Lake State Recreation AreaIf you are buying
Nobody puts this on a listing sheet, so it gets decided by accident. These are the things I walk a client round to look at when there is a dog in the family.
Sources, all primary: the El Dorado County pet licensing page, the El Dorado Hills CSD dog park page, the county dog park page, and the City of Folsom's FIDO Field page. Checked September 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm anything you are relying on.
Why I wrote this
For every home I help sell, I make a donation to NorCal Sheltie Rescue. I have raised Shelties for more than twenty eight years, which is the honest reason this page exists and the honest reason I know any of the above.
Send me the address and I will tell you what I would want to know about that particular yard, that particular fence and that particular HOA. It costs you nothing and it takes me about ten minutes.
Lets connect
No contract, no obligation, and no pressure to be further along than you are. Plenty of people write to me a year before they are ready, and that is genuinely the right time to write.
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