Aurora, CO Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- Retail dog/cat sale banned
- Exception
- Shelter/rescue-sourced animals only
- Records
- 1-year source records required
- Not covered
- On-site breeders (not "pet shops")
- Adopted
- Ordinance 2023-39, effective 8-28-2023
Summary
Aurora pet shops cannot sell dogs or cats at all: only offer them for adoption from a licensed shelter or rescue, per City Code § 26-152.
It shall be unlawful for a pet shop to display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away, broker, or otherwise transfer or dispose of a dog or cat, except for a dog or cat obtained from an animal care facility or animal rescue organization.
(b) A pet shop that offers space for the adoption of dogs or cats shall post, in a conspicuous location, a sign listing the name of the animal care facility or animal rescue organization from which the pet shop acquired each dog or cat.
(c) All pet shops shall maintain records, for a period of one year from the date of acquisition, listing the source of all dogs or cats under their ownership, custody, or control. Records shall be immediately available, upon request, to law enforcement, animal protection officers, and any other city employees charged with enforcing the provisions of this section.
(d) It shall be unlawful for a pet shop to offer any of the following for sale, barter, auction, or adoption: a sick or injured animal, an animal that is so young or weak that its transfer would be injurious to the animal, or an animal that has been inhumanely bred or raised.
(e) This section does not apply to a person or establishment, other than a pet shop, which displays, sells, delivers, offers for sale, barters, auctions, gives away, brokers, or otherwise transfers or disposes of only dogs or cats that were bred and reared on the premises of the person or establishment. (Ord. No. 2023-39, § 3, 8-28-2023)
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-30, passed June 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Aurora bans commercial pet shops from selling, bartering, or otherwise transferring dogs or cats, with one narrow exception: a dog or cat obtained from a licensed animal care facility or animal rescue organization. A pet shop hosting adoptions must post signage naming the source shelter or rescue for each animal and keep one year of acquisition records available to law enforcement and city officials on request. The ban does not reach breeders selling animals bred and reared on their own premises, those sales fall outside the 'pet shop' definition entirely. This is Aurora's own puppy-mill ordinance, not a state rule.
Violations & Fines
Unlawful for a pet shop to sell/display/offer/deliver a dog or cat outside the rescue exception; also unlawful to sell a sick, injured, underage, or inhumanely bred/raised animal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pet store in Aurora, Colorado sell puppies?
Can a breeder sell dogs directly in Aurora?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Aurora
Compare Aurora to another location·View the Colorado animal ordinances overview
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