Dade City, FL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 66-37 lists conduct prohibited in Dade City parks, from swimming outside designated areas to alcohol use, fireworks and disorderly conduct, and paragraph (h) addresses dogs directly: no person may permit the running of dogs at large, and any dog in a park area where dogs are permitted must be restrained at all times on an adequate leash. The provision was adopted with the rest of the park use-regulations article under Ord. No. 700, § 7, on June 25, 1996, and amended by Ord. No.

2011-06, § 1, on October 11, 2011. Its phrasing, "park areas where such animals are permitted," implies the city can and does designate some park areas as off-limits to dogs entirely, with the leash requirement applying wherever dogs are otherwise allowed. This is a park-specific rule: Dade City's citywide leash and at-large law, covering streets and private property outside parks, runs through a different section, § 18-1, which incorporates Pasco County's animal control ordinance by reference rather than printing its own at-large text in the municipal code.

Enforcement of park conduct, including the leash rule, falls to the public works director and city police under the general park-supervision authority in §§ 66-32 and 66-33, which lets the public works director promulgate reasonable rules for park use subject to the city manager's approval.