Georgetown, KY Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Section 6-19 defines a pet shop as any person, partnership, or corporation, whether operated separately or in connection with another business enterprise (except for a licensed kennel), that buys, sells or boards any species of animal. Section 6-20(e)(1) makes it unlawful to sell, exchange, trade, barter, or display dogs, cats, livestock, sheep, goats, chickens, or other poultry or fowl except through a duly licensed pet store, stockyard, or breeding establishment at its regular place of business, and those sales remain subject to the Kentucky Revised Statutes governing the sale of livestock and animals. Individual owners can still sell animals on an occasional basis on property they own or lease, and the code's own example is the occasional sale of a litter of puppies.

Every pet shop must also meet the other standards in the article, and its facilities are subject to inspection by the city during reasonable hours. Section 6-28(a) requires hot water at a minimum of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for washing and disinfecting, cold water accessible to all parts of the store, and fresh water for all species at all times. Cages must be nonporous, large enough for the animal to stand, turn and lie down in natural positions, and cleaned and disinfected each day. Animals under three months of age are fed at least three times per 24 hours, animals from three to nine months at least two times per 24-hour period, including Sundays and holidays, and all others at least once.

Section 6-28(b) bars any pet shop, animal dealer or other person from selling, as part of a business, a puppy, dog, kitten or cat that is unfit for purchase. Unfit means an animal that suffers or dies of a disease or parasitic infection certified by a veterinarian within 30 days of purchase as present on the purchase date, or one with a congenital or hereditary condition certified within one year. If the buyer presents the certification to the seller in writing within 72 hours of the veterinary certification, the buyer chooses among a refund of the purchase price plus tax and veterinary fees, an exchange, or keeping the animal with the seller paying reasonable treatment costs up to the full purchase price plus tax. The seller can contest in writing within two days.