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

Section 7-116 makes it unlawful for any owner or person having possession, charge, custody or control of a dog, or harboring one, to cause, permit or allow it to run at large within city limits, with a single carve-out for the fenced confines of a city-owned and operated dog park while the owner is present. The section builds in an evidentiary shortcut for enforcement: the fact that a dog is found running at large is itself prima facie evidence of a violation by the owner, keeper or harborer, shifting the practical burden to the dog's responsible party to explain the circumstances.

When not under an owner's or family member's direct control by leash, cord or chain, the dog must instead be kept securely on the owner's own land or premises in a sanitary manner, so confinement to a fenced yard satisfies the section even without a physical leash. Enforcement runs through Section 7-117, which puts the chief of police in charge of enforcing the entire dog division and authorizes animal officers to use humane wire box traps or chemical capture methods, including lending traps to private citizens dealing with a nuisance from dogs running loose.

A dog picked up running at large is impounded under Section 7-118 and can be reclaimed within five days on payment of impoundment costs and other fees. Section 7-116 was adopted by Ordinance No. 1788, Section 6, in 1987, and amended by Ordinance No. 2928, Section 2, in December 2017 to add the dog park exception.