West Palm Beach, FL Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 14-31 states the core leash rule: it is unlawful for a dog's owner to permit the dog to be in any public park or public right-of-way of the city unless the dog is led by a leash. The section gives the police department direct impoundment authority: any dog found running at large in a public park or public right-of-way "shall be impounded by the police department of the city," without requiring a separate warning step first. The rule is keyed to public parks and public rights-of-way specifically, cross-referenced to chapter 58 (parks and recreation) and chapter 78 (streets, sidewalks and public places), so it governs city parkland and the street/sidewalk network rather than private property.

A second, tighter rule applies to dangerous dogs: § 14-32 makes it unlawful for an owner or possessor of a dog known to be vicious, or known to have bitten a person or animal, to let it run at large in the city, or to be on any street, boulevard, road or alley unless accompanied by an attendant who holds the dog firmly by collar and leash. Unlike the general park/right-of-way rule, § 14-32's leash-and-attendant requirement for vicious dogs extends to the full public street network, not just parks and rights-of-way.

Both sections derive from Code 1979, §§ 6-21 and 6-22 and sit in chapter 14, article II, Dogs, which opens with an editor's note pointing to Laws of Florida, ch. 69-1432 requiring rabies vaccination of Palm Beach County dogs and cats. 00 fine, up to 60 days imprisonment, or both, with each day of continuation a separate offense, on top of the impoundment already authorized directly by § 14-31.