Homestead, FL Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Division 4 of Chapter 4, adopted by Ord. No. 2014-10-16 and effective October 22, 2014, bans retail pet stores from selling dogs or cats citywide. Sec. 4-121 defines a "pet store" as any retail establishment engaged in offering animals for sale, and separately defines an "existing pet store" as one that was already displaying, selling or transferring cats or dogs in the city as of the effective date while complying with the code. Sec. 4-122 flatly prohibits any pet store from displaying, selling, delivering, offering for sale, bartering, auctioning, giving away, or otherwise transferring or disposing of dogs or cats on or after that effective date.

Sec. 4-123 removes any grandfathering: an existing pet store may not continue any of those activities either, once the effective date passed. Sec. 4-124 carves out narrow exemptions: sellers who deal only in animals bred and reared on their own non-retail premises, publicly operated animal control facilities or shelters, private nonprofit humane societies or rescue organizations, and public or nonprofit rescue operations that work out of or in connection with a pet store. Sec. 4-125 clarifies that a pet store can still provide space for a public animal control agency, humane society, or rescue organization to house and adopt out animals on the store's premises, so in-store adoption events remain lawful even though direct retail sales of dogs and cats do not.