Gulfport, FL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 5-30, Dogs running at large prohibited, makes it unlawful for anyone who owns or has care, custody or control of a dog to allow that dog on any public street, alley, sidewalk, right-of-way, easement, park or other public property, including any city-owned lands adjacent to Boca Ciega Bay, or on private property without the property owner's or lessee's consent, unless the dog is at all times restrained and controlled by a leash of not more than twenty feet in length, attached to the dog and in the possession of the person with custody or care of it.

The twenty-foot cap is notable because many cities require a shorter six-foot leash; Gulfport's number is written into the ordinance itself and has not changed since it was last amended by Ord. No. 92-5 in 1992. A separate, tighter rule applies on the municipal pier, the municipal beach, and inside public buildings: section 5-28 bans dogs from those specific locations entirely, at any time, regardless of leash length, with an exception only for a guide or service dog assisting a person with a physical disability.

An unlicensed dog found running at large on a street, alley, park, beach, public place, or city-owned land is impounded under section 5-29 and transferred to Pinellas County Dog Control, the agency that actually handles licensing and impoundment for Gulfport, since the city itself does not run its own shelter. Both leash and at-large violations are enforced by the Gulfport Police Department or its designated animal control officer.