Davie, FL Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

There is no breed-specific legislation in the Town of Davie. Breed bans are preempted by state law: Florida Statute 767.14 provides that a local government may impose dangerous-dog regulations more severe than state law only so long as 'no such regulation is specific to breed, weight, or size.' The former grandfather clause that had allowed pre-October-1990 ordinances (such as Miami-Dade County's pit bull ban) was repealed effective October 1, 2023, so no Florida city or county - including Davie - may now enforce a breed-, weight-, or size-specific dog ordinance. Instead, Davie regulates dogs by individual behavior. Town Code Sec. 4-61 defines a 'vicious dog' as one that, per animal control or law enforcement records, has (among other things) approached a person in a menacing or attack posture, more than once severely injured or killed a domestic animal off the owner's property, aggressively bitten or inflicted severe injury on a human, or been used for dog fighting. Under Sec. 4-64, the owner of a vicious dog must confine it in an enclosure and may take it out only securely muzzled and under physical control by a leash, cord, or chain; a vicious dog at large is a public nuisance subject to impoundment. The state separately classifies 'dangerous dogs' through the county animal control authority under Sections 767.11-767.12, F.S., and imposes strict owner liability for dog bites under Section 767.04, F.S. None of these turn on the dog's breed.