Leon County, FL Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Section 4-47(g) makes it a violation for any retail pet store, as defined in Sec. 4-26, to sell or offer for sale a dog, cat or rabbit. The ordinance carves out specific exemptions rather than banning all animal commerce: a person selling only animals they personally bred and raised on their own premises is exempt, as are animal shelters and animal rescue organizations, and a shelter or rescue operating out of or in connection with a pet store. A veterinary hospital providing temporary treatment for a stray or unwanted dog, cat or rabbit is also exempt.

The ordinance names one specific grandfathered business: the pet store at 3661 North Monroe Street, identified by its federal EIN, is barred from selling dogs and cats but is allowed to continue selling rabbits, since it was the only pet store in the county selling rabbits when the ban took effect. The section also protects adoption partnerships: a retail pet store may still host an animal rescue organization or shelter to showcase adoptable dogs, cats or rabbits, so long as the store has no ownership interest in those animals and charges no fee for the space.

This rule works alongside the broader animal-sale requirements in Sec. 4-47(a)-(c), which require a veterinary certificate of inspection, minimum age of eight weeks, and current vaccines before any dog, cat, puppy or kitten is sold at all, and require a new certificate if a sale doesn't happen within 30 days of inspection.